Changelog

Timeline of updates to the RiskA·Lab Data Bank: new datasets, data refreshes, features, and fixes.

Vercel build unblocked

fix
  • •Fixed a TypeScript return-type mismatch in the Cobalt network page that was blocking Vercel's production build (dev server had skipped the strict type check).

Mingkun Maritime Domain Awareness overview added

new datasetcontent
  • •Added an overview page for the Mingkun Maritime Domain Awareness (MK-MDA) platform, maintained by Bo Hu (PKU SIS, Director of the Center for Maritime Strategy Studies and SCSPI).
  • •Raw data is not redistributed here — the page summarises the system and links out to the live platform at db.mk-mda.com.
  • •Included two screenshots provided by the research team (desktop dashboard + mobile).

Collaborator affiliations on every dataset page

contentux
  • •Added school affiliations after each external collaborator name on the US Congressional Legislators and OECD Ministerial Officials pages (Yifei Zhu & Jiangnan Zhu — University of Hong Kong; Junyan Jiang — Columbia University).
  • •Going forward, any collaborator not featured on the /people page will have their school shown in parentheses.

Global Cobalt Supply Chain database launched

new datasetfeature
  • •Added the Global Cobalt Supply Chain database (225 countries, 1998–2019, based on Ouyang et al., *Systemic risks and cascading dynamics in the global cobalt supply chain*). Maintained on the site by Xun Pang.
  • •4 sub-pages: Dashboard, Fragility & Exposure (world map + scatter + per-country time series), Network Structure (9 yearly structural indicators), Communities (Infomap community graphs at 3 nested levels).
  • •Python preprocessing turns the three publishable CSVs into ~1.2 MB of JSON in public/data/cobalt/; the raw 13M-row avalanche network is intentionally not redistributed per the dataset's authorization terms.
  • •For deep community levels, only the top 400 edges per year (by weight) are shipped to keep the graph renderable.
  • •Added Cobalt to the Home and Databases landing grids and cross-linked from every other dataset's 'Other databases' section.

GDELT US-China Events database launched

new datasetfeature
  • •Added the GDELT US-China Bilateral Events database (1,772,126 events, 1979–2026-04) with 6 interactive sub-pages: Dashboard, Timeline, Event Types, Risk Analysis, Geography, Event Explorer.
  • •Built R→CSV→JSON pipeline converting 1.77M events from raw GDELT .RData files to 9 aggregated viz JSONs.
  • •Added 20 curated historical turning-point markers (e.g., Trade War, Pelosi Taiwan visit, spy balloon) on the Timeline page's Goldstein chart.
  • •Added world map base layer to the Global Event Map using Natural Earth 110m country outlines.
  • •Added /changelog page documenting site updates.

OECD period labels refined

fixdata
  • •Replaced the oversized 'Pre-2000' bucket in the Trends page with 12 finer 5-year periods (Pre-1970 through 2020+) so the distribution is balanced.

Home & Databases layout polish

ux
  • •Aligned the 'Explore dataset →' links at the bottom of database cards on both Home and Databases pages for visual consistency.
  • •Home page now shows all three datasets as Live (no placeholder card).

OECD Ministerial Officials database launched

new datasetfeature
  • •Added the OECD Ministerial Officials database: 3,642 officials across 38 OECD member nations.
  • •6 sub-pages: Dashboard, Trends (gender/role/ideology), Education (levels/universities/careers), Geography (country distribution/migration), Dynasties (family networks), Member Search.
  • •Identified 28 political dynasties and 65 minister-to-minister family links.
  • •Built Python clean/prepare pipeline producing 10 viz JSONs from 5 raw CSVs.

Site branding and People section

uxcontent
  • •Renamed the site to RiskA·Lab Data Bank and rebranded cards around the PKU Analytics Lab for Global Risk Politics.
  • •Added People page with profiles for Xun Pang (Lab Director) and Songpo Yang (Assistant Director).
  • •Added collaborators section to each database dashboard (Yifei Zhu, Jiangnan Zhu, Junyan Jiang).
  • •Cross-linked datasets via an 'Other databases' section on each dashboard.

US Congressional Legislators database launched

new datasetfeature
  • •Launched the first dataset: US Congressional Legislators (8,841 members, 1757–2025).
  • •6 sub-pages: Dashboard, Trends (party/gender/decade), Education, Geography (states), Dynasties (560 family networks), Member Search.
  • •Deployed to Vercel as static site.
Updates are logged in public/data/changelog.json and rendered on each deploy. Each entry lists the date, a short title, relevant tags, and a bullet list of the changes.