Clionadh Raleigh and ACLED, All The Trouble In The World

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In this wide-ranging and unfiltered conversation, Robert Young Pelton sits down with Professor Clionadh Raleigh, founder of the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), to unpack how global violence is actually measured—and why most people misunderstand what the data really shows. For anyone expecting a Band-Aid solution or We Are the World framing, be warned: both Pelton and Raleigh argue that violence is a feature, not a flaw, of modern state foreign policy.

ACLED began in 2005 as part of Raleigh’s doctoral research, challenging the blunt practice of labeling entire countries as “violent.” Instead, ACLED tracks individual violent events by location, actor, and type, revealing patterns of power, governance, and competition with unprecedented clarity. Now a nonprofit, ACLED records roughly 1,100–1,200 violent events every day across every country on Earth, drawing from more than 5,000 sources in over 100 languages—and relying on in-country researchers rather than AI-generated estimates. This granular data is central to the factual foundation Pelton uses when assessing the world’s most dangerous places.

A core theme is how politicized fatality counts have become. In conflicts like Ukraine and Gaza—together accounting for about 22% of global violence—death tolls are routinely inflated or suppressed, and access to on-the-ground reporting is often denied or lethal. ACLED prioritizes consistency and cross-verification, recognizing that raw numbers are increasingly weaponized for strategic narratives.

The conversation challenges humanitarian orthodoxy head-on. Raleigh argues that while aid saves lives, it has largely failed to reduce conflict because it rests on the false assumption that violence is driven mainly by poverty or state collapse. ACLED’s data shows violence today is increasingly produced by states and market-driven actors competing over trade routes, resources, labor, and political leverage—conflict as business.

The discussion concludes with a stark assessment: global violence has plateaued at its highest recorded level, with one in six people now directly exposed. States are the primary drivers, and peace has little market value.

ACLED’s mission isn’t advocacy—it’s clarity. An hour of insight from Dr. Raleigh and RYP.

And yes, there is snow in Africa.

Robert Young Pelton is a Canadian-American author, journalist, filmmaker, and adventurer known for his conflict reporting and for venturing alone into some of the world's most dangerous and remote areas to chronicle history-shaping events. His work often involves interviewing military and political figures in war zones and spending time embedded with various groups, including the Taliban, Northern Alliance, CIA operatives, al Qaeda, and Blackwater .

He has been present at numerous conflicts, from Ukraine to the the Battle of Grozny and from Qali Jangi in Afghanistan to the rebel siege of Monrovia in Liberia.

Pelton is the author of several books, most notably the New York Times bestselling guide, "The World's Most Dangerous Places," which provides information for navigating high-risk zones. He has also written "Come Back Alive," a survival guide, and his autobiography, "The Adventurist: My Life in Dangerous Places". His work includes feature stories for National Geographic, Men’s Journal, Foreign Policy and Vice. He has worked as a contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure and has worked for major media networks like Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel, CBS's 60 Minutes, ABC Investigative Division, and CNN.

Pelton is also the founder of DPx Gear, a company that designs rugged survival tools and knives based on his field experiences.