These datasets will help me operationalize my dependent variable, the level of persecution endured by Christians, following foreign intervention and the decentralization of violence. The Minorities at Risk dataset analyzes the persecution of minorities using a number of indicators including the proportion of the group to the country population, how and where the group is distributed, emigration reasons, economic and political discrimination indexes, restrictions on religion, level of grievances, ect. There are limitations to this dataset as it is nominal data and many of the categories contain the number -99, meaning there is no basis for judgement. There are 27 cases on Iraq alone in this dataset.

The Forcibly Displaced Populations dataset has information on 44 cases in Iraq and tracks the number of internally displaced persons and refugees. This dataset gives me the ability to track the rise and fall of refugees and displaced persons within Iraq across time, but does not necessarily attribute such movements to minority or religious persecution. This dataset could be used in congruence with another dataset for my own project.

The International Religious Freedom Reports analyzes the State Department’s reports on 198 countries around the world and how many countries fall into yes or no categories. It has data on indicators such as whether people were abused or displaced in a country due to religion, whether religious considerations affected out migration, whether there has been an improvement in respect for religious freedom, ect. This data can be useful to my research as it investigates Iraq and also allows me to compare the data to other countries in the region.

Both the Forcibly Displaced Populations dataset and the International Religious Freedom Reports use interval ratio data which can be particularly useful for my own research and gives me the opportunity to find the average across the many cases.

Minorities at Risk Project. (2009) “Minorities at Risk Dataset.” College Park, MD: Center for International Development and Conflict Management. Retrieved from http://www.mar.umd.edu/ on: 24 October 2017.

Forcibly Displaced Populations, 1964-2008. (2017) “Armed Conflict and Intervention (ACI) Datasets.” Vienna, VA: Center for Systemic Peace. Retrieved from http://www.systemicpeace.org/inscrdata.html on: 24 October 2017.

International Religious Freedom Reports (2006) “International Religious Freedom Data.” University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved from http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Files/Codebooks/IRFAGG_CB.asp on: 24 October 2017.