The primary goal of research at the Department is to understand the causes and dynamics of peace and conflict. The Department has established itself as a key producer of cutting-edge research and a provider of high-quality data on conflict. The research conducted is mainly theory-based empirical enquiries, while some projects are policy-driven. A range of quantitative and qualitative methods is used, and several projects are multi-method. The Department also houses the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) which provides unique, free and globally accessible data on armed conflict used worldwide for frontline research in the field. An international panel has evaluated the program as world leading and a “flagship” for Uppsala University.

Most research is externally funded and conducted within projects or programs. The two largest being the UCDP and Violence Early-Warning System (ViEWS) – a  program that will develop, test, and iteratively improve a forecasting system that is rigorous, data based, and publicly available to researchers and the international community.