ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at security from the perspective of the quantitative literature on armed conflict. Quantitative studies make it possible to identify patterns that are less visible in studies that are rich in detail. For example, as we show below, fewer people have been killed in war during the last decade than in any other decade measuring has been feasible. This is an important complement to common (subjective) perceptions of security that tend to give current events disproportionate weight. In this sense, quantification introduces a particular type of objectivity into the security debate. 2 At the same time, variation in the magnitudes of wars complicates quantitative research on armed conflict since all cases are treated as in principle similar.
