CSAC Frequently Asked Questions
How should the CSAC database be cited?
Smith, Angharad, Monti Narayan Datta, and Kevin Bales. 2020. “Introducing Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflicts: Introducing the CSAC Dataset, 1989–2016.” Unpublished manuscript.
What types of conflicts are included?
The dataset examines armed conflicts documented by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) from 1989 to 2016 in which at least one side of the conflict was a nation-state. The UCDP defines a conflict as, “a contested incompatibility that concerns government and/or territory where the use of armed force between two parties, of which at least one is the government of a state, results in at least 25 battle-related deaths in a calendar year.”
The UCDP identifies four types of conflicts, which are coded as such in the database:
- Extrasystemic conflicts occur between a state and a non-state group outside of the state's territory. These are by definition fought over territory.
- Interstate conflict occurs between one or more states.
- Internal armed conflict occurs between the government of a state and one or more internal opposition group(s) without intervention from other states.
- Internationalized internal armed conflict occurs between the government of a state and one or more internal opposition group(s) with intervention from other states (secondary parties) on one or both sides.
What other data about enslavement in the conflicts are included in the database?
The database includes
- whether each conflict was a proxy war;
- whether enslavement was used tactically or strategically or both or neither;
- whether the incompatibility behind the conflict involved governance or territory or both;
- the start and end dates and measures of precision for both;
- a measure of the conflict's intensity;
- and the geographical region of the conflict.
How are the different forms of slavery identified by the dataset defined?
Child Soldiers - Under Article 8 of the Rome Statute, war crimes against child soldiers include conscripting or enlisting children under the ages of 15 years, or using them to participate actively in hostilities. (Rome Statute).
Sexual Exploitation / Forced Marriage - According to the United Nations, this includes “Any institution or practice whereby: A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian family, or any other person or group; or The husband of a woman, his family or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person.” (United Nations Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery).
Forced Labour - According to the International Labor Organization, this includes “All work service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.” This excludes compulsory military service, normal civil obligations, penalties imposed by a court action taken in an emergency, and minor communal services. (ILO Forced Labour Convention and Convention Concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour).
Human Trafficking - According to the United Nations, this includes three steps:
1. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons;
2. By means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person;
3. With the intent of exploiting that person through: prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery (or similar practices), servitude, and removal of organs. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘trafficking in persons’ even if this does not involve threat, use of force, or coercion. (United Nations Trafficking in Persons Protocol)
Where is the Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflict dataset housed and who is responsible for its design and updating?
The Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflict dataset is housed at the Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham UK. A team headed by Kevin Bales and Monti Datta compiled and verified the data. The project was support by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council, the UK Economic and Social Research Council, and by the Rights Lab. The project is ongoing, new and enlarged versions of the data will be published in this website when they are completed. An Archive of all versions will be retained on this website.
Where may I find the Codebook and more details about the Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflict dataset?
The Codebook for the CSAC dataset may be downloaded from the DATASET downloads. A discussion and description of the dataset can be found in the WORKING PAPER "Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflicts: Introducing the CSAC Dataset, 1989-2016" on the DATASET download.
Where is a full description of the CSAC dataset?
A discussion and description of the dataset can be found in the WORKING PAPER "Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflicts: Introducing the CSAC Dataset, 1989-2016" on the DATASET download.
I think you are missing a relevant citation, where shall I send the citation for inclusion in the Bibliography?
Please contact us. Thank you.