LiCEP (The Laboratory in Comparative Ethnic Processes) is an inter-university research group that seeks to improve our understanding of the causes and consequences of ethnic mobilizations. We are interested in two broad issues. First, what kind of data would be most illuminating for our research questions and how should they be collected? Second, what counts as convincing evidence for our arguments? How can we design tests which give us greater confidence in our conclusions? How can we build and test competing explanations?