The UN Security Council and Civil War First Insights from a New Dataset

What is a civil war? A civil war is an… armed conflict between a government and one or more non-state opposition groups causally linked to a dispute over government and/or territory in the state where force is used and resulting in at least 500 battle-related deaths during a given year during the conflict. Definition based on terminology developed by Uppsala University

Source: IPI Security Council Compliance Database, v Security Council resolutions and civil wars

Source: IPI Security Council Compliance Database, v.1.01 Security Council attention to active civil wars and postconflict situations

Source: IPI Security Council Compliance Database, v.1.01 Security Council demands to civil war parties by thematic category

Source: IPI Security Council Compliance Database, v.1.01 Security Council demands to civil-war parties by region

Security Council demands to civil-war parties by political authority characteristics Data source: CIDCM Polity IV project, Freedom House Freedom in the World Country Ratings dataset, and IPI Security Council Compliance Database, v.1.01

Security Council demands reiterating prior commitments by civil-war parties 44% of all demands to civil-war parties in Security Council resolutions reiterate commitments made by all or some conflict parties UNSC’s endorsement of peace process raises reputational costs of non-compliance and signals international community’s endorsement of agreement among conflict parties

Source: IPI Security Council Compliance Database, v.1.01 Security Council demands to civil-war parties and the use of sanctions

Next steps in this project Analysis of extent and reasons for civil-war parties’ compliance and non-compliance with UN Security Council resolutions Publication of edited volume and further policy reports Publication of major database