Global Classroom: ICE Case Study Assignments

Ice Assignment #3: Conflict Impacts

What is the nature of the conflict? Does it involve conflict between nations or within them? How many casualties were there and how many dead? Think about the short and long-term consequences for both civilian and miliitary. How did the civilians die? Here are the ICE coding categories for this cluster of indicators.

The conflict categories show the type and level of conflict, the link, the outcome, the fatality level, and the level of strategic interest at issue. The categories intend to provide specific information about policy variables related to the conflict and how they link to environmental issues. Finally, the actors in the conflict are indicated as are types of preventative measures.

9. Type of Conflict

Cases generally are those that occur within states or between them [WAR or CIVIL]..

10. Level of Conflict

Conflict can be further differentiated between those of a low and high value. Whether the cases are low or high can be determined from Category #12 that sets the fatality level. COW includes cases where there are at minimum 1,000 military fatalities, but MID does not include the cases by level or even existence of fatalities, whether civilian or military.
Threat and harm are also included where the preparation for conflict causes environmental damage that may lead to fatalities. Likewise, weapons testing and foreign bases cause a host of environment problems.

a. Intrastate [Low, High]
b. Interstate [Low, High, Threat, Harm]

11. Fatality Level of Dispute (military and civilian fatalities)
Conflict databases, especially COW, often focus on military fatalities. One reason is that military death data is better than kept civilian data. However, in this category an overall fatality level, by year, is used, broken down by civilian and military. In most cases, annual data are totals divided equally on an annual basis. The scale can also be divided by logarithmic levels.

1(1) = 1
1(2) = 10
1(3) = 100
1(4) = 1,000
1(5) = 10,000
1(6) = 100,000
1(7) = 1,000,000
1(8) = 10,000,000
1(9) = 100,000,000