Thinking about Protests with Maps
One of the main aims of the TakePart project is to create accessible resources that can contribute to the public understanding of political participation in democratic countries. In our view, a systematic, evidence-based understanding of political participation that goes beyond a narrow interest in voting can help democratic societies reflect on their own transformation. It can help them adapt to changes in political culture; and it can help them recognize new practices that may sustain citizen involvement in the life of the polity, a vital operating principle of modern democracies.
TakePart focuses on protest participation as an increasingly prominent avenue for citizen involvement in democratic politics that provides an avenue for influencing governments and policymakers outside the voting booth (Oser, 2021). Over several months now, the TakePart researchers have worked on cataloguing instances of participation that span a range of acts—from demonstrations to petitions—in five European countries: Germany, Hungary, Romania, Spain and the UK. The fruits of this labour are now beginning to emerge, and we will share them via multiple outlets including the “Resources” section of our website.
Below, we review two maps visualising reports of protests by five ideologically diverse media outlets over a period of 18 months since the start of 2023 (i.e. year one of the project). The first map (Figure 1) is a visualisation of protests covered by the Romanian media from 1 January 2023 to 31 July 2024. It offers a few key insights. First, while protests have been concentrated in the largest cities in the country, with the capital Bucharest far outstripping other cities, there is nevertheless a large plurality of places where people have protested to such a level that they attracted the attention of the media. Second, even a cursory glance at the map reveals an urban-rural divide that alludes to an important and likely structural participation divide.
People in rural areas may have fewer opportunities to participate and even if they do, they may not be as well positioned to catch the attention of the media and through them of a wider section of the Romanian public. It may thus be harder for their grievances to find their way onto the public agenda and that path may implacably lead protestors into those larger cities visualised on the first map, as illustrated by the farmer’s protests in early 2023 (see Figure 2).
Figure 1. Map of protest locations recorded by the Romanian media (January 2023-July 2024)
We should note, though, that a geography of protest has to take the symbolic value of specific places into account. Likewise, the disruptive character of protest, for example in the form of road blockades, is enhanced in densely populated areas of higher traffic. Ultimately, while marches into cities are a historical fixture, the TakePart team is interested in investigating the extent to which the use of information and communication technologies—most prominently social media—are helping to close the rural/urban gap. Forthcoming research by members of the TakePart team suggests that Romanians living outside urban areas are more likely to support demonstrations online than their urban counterparts. The TakePart team is looking into possible ways in which such participation is nurtured, socially, online.
Figure 2. Map of the farmers’/transporters’ protest locations reported by the Romanian media
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