Correlates of War
Encyclopedia
The Correlates of War project is an academic study of the history of warfare. It was started in 1963 at the University of Michigan
by political scientist J. David Singer
. Concerned with collecting data about the history of wars and conflict among states, the project has driven forward quantitative research into the causes of warfare. The Correlates of War project seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations. Key principles of the project include a commitment to standard scientific principles of replication, data reliability, documentation, review, and the transparency of data collection procedures.
The project has collected data on many attributes of international politics and national capabilities over time. Available data collected by the Correlates of War project start in 1816. The most widely used databases developed by the project include an identification of independent states since 1816, a list of interstate and civil wars since 1816, a list of "militarized disputes" (militarized crises that end short of war), and national capabilities
measured annually for all countries since 1816 (including the size of countries' military, their energy consumption as a proxy for industrialization, population size, urbanized population, and raw material production of iron and steel). Other databases include an identification of all alliances since 1816, territorial relationships and changes over time, and membership in intergovernmental organizations. All Correlates of War databases are available free for public and academic use with proper citation.
In addition to generating these several data sets and constructing quantitative indicators of key variables that might turn out to be correlates of war the project has completed and published an impressive variety of statistical analyses and interesting and promising hypotheses. The data has also been used extensively by researchers examining such relationships and seeking to explain when countries go to war or avoid it, when they trade, when they form alliances (and the effect of such alliance), and so on.
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
by political scientist J. David Singer
J. David Singer
J. David Singer was an American professor of political science. He held a bachelor's degree from Duke University and a doctoral degree from New York University.-Contributions:...
. Concerned with collecting data about the history of wars and conflict among states, the project has driven forward quantitative research into the causes of warfare. The Correlates of War project seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations. Key principles of the project include a commitment to standard scientific principles of replication, data reliability, documentation, review, and the transparency of data collection procedures.
The project has collected data on many attributes of international politics and national capabilities over time. Available data collected by the Correlates of War project start in 1816. The most widely used databases developed by the project include an identification of independent states since 1816, a list of interstate and civil wars since 1816, a list of "militarized disputes" (militarized crises that end short of war), and national capabilities
Composite Index of National Capability
The Composite Index of National Capability is a statistical measure of national power created by J. David Singer for the Correlates of War project in 1963. It uses an average of percentages of world totals in six different components. The components represent demographic, economic, and military...
measured annually for all countries since 1816 (including the size of countries' military, their energy consumption as a proxy for industrialization, population size, urbanized population, and raw material production of iron and steel). Other databases include an identification of all alliances since 1816, territorial relationships and changes over time, and membership in intergovernmental organizations. All Correlates of War databases are available free for public and academic use with proper citation.
In addition to generating these several data sets and constructing quantitative indicators of key variables that might turn out to be correlates of war the project has completed and published an impressive variety of statistical analyses and interesting and promising hypotheses. The data has also been used extensively by researchers examining such relationships and seeking to explain when countries go to war or avoid it, when they trade, when they form alliances (and the effect of such alliance), and so on.