Collaborative Research: The Militarized Dispute Data 2015-2024 and Beyond

United States Air Force Academy, U S A F Academy CO

Investigators

Abstract

The Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) project provides a high-quality, publicly available data resource for the empirical study of international conflict. The data include all international interactions, by any state in any location, short of war but where the state has intentionally involved or invoked the military by way of threat, show, or use of force against another state. This project, MID6, will update coverage through 2024 and standardize data collection methods for future updates. It will also create MID-Live for the early release of candidate data and for near real-time incident detection. MID6 is critical for all organizations and individuals concerned with national security in general, and militarized interactions between states in particular. It will provide interested parties with the opportunity to develop an analytical understanding of when national security incidents are likely to escalate to military force or are likely to be managed short of this point. It will provide information on evolving patterns of conflict and competition between nation-states, as well as opportunities for cooperation. In essence, MID6 will advance our understanding of the conditions under which conflict, cooperation, and competition are more likely to occur. The Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) data are a primary resource for the study of international conflict and are regularly used in the field of international relations. The current data have coverage from 1816 to 2014. This effort, MID6, will update coverage through 2024, providing an additional ten years of data on militarized interstate incidents and disputes involving any country in any location. It will incorporate research with new tools and technological innovations, specifically in the areas of natural language processing, promote graduate student training. It will standardize data collection procedures for ongoing updates beyond 2024 and will provide the highest levels of transparency and accessibility in the data collection process. This project will also create MID-Live for the early release of candidate data and for near real-time incident detection. Through official project channels, for example social media accounts and the MID website hosted by the Correlates of War project, it will identify and publicize MID incidents as they occur. By releasing data faster, MID-Live will improve input data to forecasting models and conflict monitoring systems, as well as provide analysts objective data on conflicts as they occur. Overall, the expansion of the MID data through 2024 and the new innovations ensure that researchers and analysts have the data they need to study and understand international conflict. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.