Conflict and Governance

Conflict remains one of the biggest impediments to economic and democratic development, and increasing violence against government officials poses direct threats to democratic governance. Violence targeting government and election officials can have a chilling effect on the work of those public officials but also on the rule of law and democracy more broadly, given these actors’ direct role in safeguarding the democratic order. The Center’s Conflict and Governance project systematically tracks political violence targeting elections and government officials.

The project is a partnership between the Center and ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data). ACLED is an independent, impartial global monitor that collects, analyzes, and maps data on conflict and protest. ACLED provides detailed information to help identify, understand, and track patterns and trends in conflict and crisis situations around the world. The UT Government Department offers a nationally acclaimed program of teaching and research in political science, with unique expertise in comparative politics and public law. 

In Spring 2024, the project piloted the effort in Mexico, as a country with one of the highest conflict rates globally and pivotal elections in June 2024. The project has since expanded to include Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Iraq, Panama, the Philippines, and the United States. In each country, the project is backdating the coding to track conflict events related to elections and government officials in all years available in the ACLED data, dating back to 2018 in some countries and 2020 in others.

The election violence data are available on ACLED's website, along with analytical reports related to elections, such as these on Ecuador, Mexico, and the Philippines.

The Conflict and Governance project is directed at UT by Ashley Moran. UT students working on the project this year include undergraduates Isra Akhtar, Owen Butler, Beau Chapman, Abigail Holguin, Sunny Hou, Eugene Lee, Brian Montalvo, and Kathleen Nguyen. UT students interested to intern with the project can reach out to Ashley Moran.