Marko Hermsen

The global conflict panorama in 2017 was characterized by discontinuity and change. Not only did the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK) record numerous newly-sparked and ended conflicts, but the dynamics within single, sometimes longstanding conflicts was also marked by major changes.

With its new Conflict Barometer 2017, HIIK presents current data and analysis on the global conflicts of the past year. According to its methodology, HIIK recorded a total number of 222 violent conflicts, five fewer than in the previous year. While the number of wars (20) increased by two, the number of limited wars (16) decreased by four. Overall, the HIIK recorded 385 violent and nonviolent conflicts worldwide in 2017, excluding the currently 22 inactive but still potential conflicts.

Six new conflicts were observed in Ethiopia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Iraq, as well as Qatar on the one hand and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates on the other hand.

Conflict Barometer 2017 Download

The HIIK will publish its new data and analyses on political conflicts for the year 2017 on February 28, 2018!

Save the date, visit us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@HIIK_eV)

Welcome to the HIIK’s relaunched website! Over the past few months we have been busy making our website better and easier to navigate. We have also added a couple of new features – particularly our new conflict database which allows you to directly access and filter all data and reports of the Conflict Barometer online.

Try it out right now: Conflict Database

In the coming weeks more and more content will be updated and new features will be added to the website, so stay tuned!