Webs of War
The central role of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in Sudan’s web of violent interactions between 1991 and 2001
🕸️ This project introduces a web application that lets users explore armed conflicts not just by where and when violence happens, but by who is fighting whom and how those relationships evolve.
Hosted on the Peace Observatory website, and built on public data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), the application automatically generates interactive conflict networks, revealing the intricate webs of alliances and enmities between state and non-state actors. Most existing tools focus on mapping incidents. This project adds another layer: dynamic network graphs that show cooperation and opposition among conflict actors over time, across any country. Users can filter by actor and time frame, and instantly visualize the actor’s role in state-based violence, non-state clashes, or attacks on civilians. This visualization tool is meant to help researchers, policymakers, and peacebuilders seeking to understand today’s conflict complexity at a glance.
🔍 Try it out at the Peace Observatory website.
đź“„ Download the paper that introduces the web application here.
