HIIK e.V. - the Organization

HIIK is a non-profit organization dedicated to the research, evaluation, and documentation of intra- and interstate political conflicts. HIIK 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 (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. Coups d'états, 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.

Database: COSIMO

HIIK, in its database COSIMO, records information on political conflicts between 1945 and today. Since 2003, it works with a relational datenbank system, completely reconsidering, updating, and extending the dataset of COSIMO 1.3. At present, COSIMO 2.0 includes information on far more than 500 conflicts with over 2,500 phases. By the systematic recording of single conflict measures, the new conception enables the detailed description of the conflict development in violent and non-violent phases. In addition, the databank includes extensive information on the structure of state and non-state actors, that are recorded per year.