Local protest event analysis: providing a more comprehensive picture?

Abstract

In exploring protest dynamics, Protest Event Analysis (PEA) has proven an indispensable analytic tool. Despite various improvements, PEA faces continuous challenges, notably the reproduction of media-specific selection biases. This research note aims to contribute to the literature seeking to mitigate these issues by exploring the potential of PEA based on local newspaper data, which tend to be less selective in their protest reporting. The article introduces an original local PEA dataset in Germany (2000–2020) and systematically compares it to existing national-level PEA data for Germany. The analysis shows that while both datasets pick up similar trends in terms of mobilisation waves, national level data focus on shorter periods of intense protest activity. Furthermore, issues of protest differ: material and social issues (including labour and environmental issues) are more prominent in local data, while cultural issues (including immigration and gender) are more prominent in national-level data.