Contemporary slavery in armed conflict: Introducing the CSAC dataset, 1989–2016

Abstract

We introduce a new dataset, Contemporary Slavery in Armed Conflict (CSAC), coding instances and types of enslavement in armed conflict from 1989 to 2016, building on Uppsala Conflict Data Program data. CSAC currently covers 171 armed conflicts from 1989 to 2016, with the unit of analysis being the conflict-year. We identify different types of enslavement within these conflicts and find that 87% contained incidences of child soldiers, 34% included sexual exploitation/forced marriage, 23% included forced labor, and 16% contained instances of human trafficking. The use of enslavement in armed conflict to support strategic aims is also identified and found in about 17% of cases. Next, drawing upon key variables from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, we present a series of cross-tabulations looking at the presence of slavery and conflict broken down by conflict incompatibility, intensity level, and type. We see the coding of slavery within conflict as a step toward generating greater understanding of when and how state and non-state actors use enslavement within conflict, with the goal of mitigating and possibly eradicating slavery in warfare.