Introducing the AMAR (All Minorities at Risk) Data

• Published in: The Journal of conflict resolution Vol. 62; no. 1; pp. 203 - 226
• Main Authors: Birnir, Jóhanna K., Laitin, David D., Wilkenfeld, Jonathan, Waguespack, David M., Hultquist, Agatha S., Gurr, Ted R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Sage Publications, Inc 01.01.2018; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Bias; Conflict; Conflict resolution; Data; Data Set Feature; Ethnic Groups; Ethnicity; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority & ethnic violence; Minority Groups; Politics; Risk; Sampling; Selection bias; data; ethnic groups; selection issues; conflict
• ISSN: 0022-0027; 1552-8766
• DOI: 10.1177/0022002717719974

The article introduces the All Minorities at Risk (AMAR) data, a sample of socially recognized and salient ethnic groups. Fully coded for the forty core Minorities at Risk variables, this AMAR sample provides researchers with data for empirical analysis free from the selection issues known in the study of ethnic politics to date. We describe the distinct selection issues motivating the coding of the data with an emphasis on underexplored selection issues arising with truncation of ethnic group data, especially when moving between levels of data. We then describe our sampling technique and the resulting coded data. Next, we suggest some directions for the future study of ethnicity and conflict using our bias-corrected data. Our preliminary correlations suggest selection bias may have distorted our understanding about both group and country correlates of ethnic violence.