The uses for fire data and satellite images in monitoring, detecting, and documenting collective political violence

Abstract

A recurring obstacle to scholarly inquiry into conflict is the lack of access to reliable data. The advent of innovative technologies and methods for remote data collection may alleviate this issue. This article introduces open-source satellite-gathered fire data as a tool for detecting unreported conflict events, and for improving the reliability of pre-existing conflict event data. To demonstrate this potential, I compare the distribution of fire data to conflict events in five oblasts in southeastern Ukraine and find that fire data can be a spatiotemporally accurate proxy for conventional warfare involving heavy use of artillery and aerial bombing. Examining the 2020–2022 Tigray War, I also demonstrate that fire data can be a powerful tool for uncovering unreported targeted violence involving arson in low information environments. Finally, I argue that fire data opens the door for new research by allowing conflict scholars to address data gaps and data reliability issues.