This repository contains the R code and data used to build the Political Terror Dashboard, an interactive tool that allows users to explore trends in political terror for various countries and regions from 1976 to 2023. The dashboard is based on data from the Political Terror Scale (PTS) project, a data collection initiative at the Political Science Department at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
The dashboard provides users with dynamic visualization options to explore trends in political terror, with data sourced from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. Department of State. Users can customize the time range, select specific countries or regions, and choose between different data sources to gain insights into historical and geographical variations in political terror.
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Dynamic Country, Region, and Global Selection: Users can choose to view trends for specific countries, regions, or globally.
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PTS Source Selection: Users can select from three different political terror indicators computed by the PTS team based on reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the U.S. Department of State.
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Countries with Highest Average Political Terror Score (PTS-A): Users can view a list of countries with the highest average Political Terror Score (PTS-A) for any year range that they select. The app also displays a dynamic table with detailed statistics for these countries, including the mean, median, and standard deviation of PTS-A values over the selected time span.
You can access the app here: Political Terror Dashboard
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
PTS_Trend_Code.R |
R script for the Shiny app, including both UI and server logic. |
PTS-2024.csv |
The PTS dataset containing Political Terror Scores from 1976-2023. |
PTS-Codebook-V220.pdf |
Codebook providing details on the variables, coding, and methodology used in the Political Terror Scale dataset. It can be downloaded from this repository or from the Political Terror Scale website. |
README.md |
README file, containing project details. |
server.R |
The server logic file for the Shiny app, handling reactive programming, data filtering, and plotting. |
ui.R |
The user interface (UI) script for the Shiny app, defining layout and controls for user interaction. |
Instructions.Rmd |
R Markdown file containing instructions on how to run the R code for the app. |
Instructions.pdf |
PDF version of the instructions for running the R code for the app. |
The dataset (PTS-2024.csv) contains political terror scores for over 200 countries and seven geographic regions from 1976 to 2023. The scores are computed by the PTS team based on reports by three primary sources and include three indicators of political terror:
- PTS_A: Amnesty International
- PTS_H: Human Rights Watch
- PTS_S: U.S. Department of State
The PTS team assign a score ranging from 1 to 5 to each country based on reports from the above-mentioned sources to provide a general measure of political terror in each country. As the PTS project team reminds, it is important to understand political terror as:
"... violations of basic human rights to the physical integrity of the person by agents of the state within the territorial boundaries of the state in question in a particular year. It is important to note that political terror as defined by the PTS is not synonymous with terrorism or the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims. The concept is also distinguishable from terrorism as a tactic or from criminal acts."(Gibney et al., 2024)
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Countries under a secure rule of law, people are not imprisoned for their views, and torture is rare or exceptional. Political murders are extremely rare. |
| 2 | There is a limited amount of imprisonment for nonviolent political activity. However, few persons are affected, torture and beatings are exceptional. Political murder is rare. |
| 3 | There is extensive political imprisonment, or a recent history of such imprisonment. Execution or other political murders and brutality may be common. Unlimited detention, with or without a trial, for political views is accepted. |
| 4 | Civil and political rights violations have expanded to large numbers of the population. Murders, disappearances, and torture are a common part of life. Despite its generality, on this level, terror primarily affects those who engage in politics or ideas. |
| 5 | The terrors of Level 4 have been extended to the whole population. The leaders of these societies place no limits on the means or thoroughness with which they pursue personal or ideological goals. |
The PTS dataset is available for download from the Political Terror Scale project website. Users can download the latest version of the PTS dataset directly from the website.
Gibney, Mark, Peter Haschke, Daniel Arnon, Attilio Pisanò, Gray Barrett, Baekkwan Park, and Jennifer Barnes. 2024. The Political Terror Scale 1976-2023. Retrieved from the Political Terror Scale website: http://www.politicalterrorscale.org.
The codebook, titled PTS-Codebook-V220, provides detailed explanations of the variables, coding procedures, and the methodology used in the Political Terror Scale dataset.
The codebook can be downloaded from this repository or from the Political Terror Scale project website.
For instructions on how to run the R code for the app, please refer to the Instructions.Rmd or Instructions.pdf files in this repository.