The Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK) at the Department of Political Science at the University of Heidelberg is a private organization dedicated to research, documentation and analysis of national and international political conflicts. HIIK e.V. is a non-profit organization dedicated to the research, evaluation, and documentation of intra-, interstate and transnational political conflicts

Group conflict

Group conflict, or hostilities between different groups, is a pervasive feature common to all levels of social organization .. Although group conflict is one of the most complex phenomena studied by social scientists, the history of the human race evidences a series of group-level conflicts that...

. It evolved from the research project "Konflikte seit 1945" led by Prof. Dr. Frank R. Pfetsch (University of Heidelberg) and financed by the German Research Foundation

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...

 (DFG) from 1988-1991.

Conflict Barometer

The HIIK's annual publication Conflict Barometer describes the recent trends in global conflict developments, escalations, de-escalations, and settlements. Coup d'état

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

, attempted coups d'états, terrorist attacks as well as implemented measures of conflict resolution are also reported. It is subdivided into five world regions and presents all present conflicts in detailed charts and short descriptions. The methodological approach consists of the conflict definition and the measuring of the conflict intensity.

Conflict definition

Conflicts are clashes of interest (differences of position) concerning national values (territory, secession

Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...

, decolonization

Decolonization

Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the unequal relation of polities whereby one people or nation establishes and maintains dependent Territory over another...

, autonomy

Autonomy

Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

, system/ideology

Ideology

An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...

, national power

National power

National power is defined as the sum of all resources available to a nation in the pursuit of national objectives.-Elements of national power:National power is composed of various elements, also referred to as instruments or attributes; these may be grouped into two categories based on their...

, regional predominance, international power

International Power

International Power PLC is an international electricity generator formed in 2000 by the demerger of National Power. It is headquartered at Senator House, 85 Queen Victoria Street in the City of London...

, resources, other). These clashes are of a certain duration and scope, involving at least two parties (organized groups, states, groups of states, organizations of states) determined to pursue their interests and win their cases.

Conflict intensity

State of Violence	Intensity Group	Level of Intensity	Name of Intensity	Definition
non-violent	low	1	Latent Conflict	A positional difference over definable values of national meaning is considered to be a latent conflict if respective demands are ar ticulated by one of the parties and perceived by the other as such.
non-violent	low	2	Manifest Conflict	A manifest conflict includes the use of measures that are located in the preliminary stage to violent force. This includes for example verbal pressure, threatening explicitly with violence, or the imposition of economic sanctions.
violent	medium	3	Crisis	A crisis is a tense situation in which at least one of the par ties uses violent force in sporadic incidents.
violent	high	4	Severe Crisis	A conflict is considered to be a severe crisis if violent force is repeatedly used in an organized way.
violent	high	5	War	A war is a type of violent conflict in which violent force is used with a certain continuity in an organized and systematic way. The conflict parties exercise extensive measures, depending on the situation. The extent of destruction is massive and of long duration.

External links

• Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK)
• Conflict Barometer published since 1992 as PDF-Download