On Protests, Maps, and the Limits of Quantitative Data | Americas South and North. Erik Loomis points to this fascinating map allegedly marking “every protest on the planet since 1979.” The piece explaining the map itself, however, acknowledges the limits of taking such data too far: The map also shows some of the limits of Big Data — and trying to reduce major global events to coded variables. Take, for example, the protests across the United States in late 2011: Some are Occupy protests, others are Tea Party protests, but the difference in the political identity of those demonstrations isn’t reflected in the map. There are some strange things that happen when the data are mapped, as well. However, there seem to be some other very real issues, perhaps most notably in exactly what constitutes a “protest.” Nor are they alone. That does note explain the absence of regular and significant “blips” in Brazil in 1991-1992, however.
To be clear, this is not to toss out the map altogether – it does indeed provide a fascinating glimpse into mobilization on a global scale. Mapped: Every Protest on the Planet Since 1979 - By J. Dana Stuster. This is what data from a world in turmoil looks like. The Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT) tracks news reports and codes them for 58 fields, from where an incident took place to what sort of event it was (these maps look at protests, violence, and changes in military and police posture) to ethnic and religious affiliations, among other categories.
The dataset has recorded nearly 250 million events since 1979, according to its website, and is updated daily. John Beieler, a doctoral candidate at Penn State, has adapted these data into striking maps, like the one above of every protest recorded in GDELT -- a breathtaking visual history lesson. Some events to watch for as you scroll through the timeline: Strikes and protests in response to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's economic reforms.
Poland lighting up through the 1980s while Cold War-era Eastern Europe stays dark. The escalation of apartheid protests in South Africa in the late 1980s. John Beieler. #campmap for #worldrevolution. #OccupyMap | Occupy Wall Street. Protest.Net: A calendar of protest, meetings, and conferences. The Cause Of Riots And The Price of Food What causes riots? That’s not a question you would expect to have a simple answer. But today, Marco Lagi and buddies at the New England Complex Systems Institute in Cambridge, say they’ve found a single factor that seems to trigger riots around the world. This single factor is the price of food. Lagi and co say that when it rises above a certain threshold, social unrest sweeps the planet. The evidence comes from two sources. This clearly seems to show that when the food price index rises above a certain threshold, the result is trouble around the world. This isn’t rocket science.
But what’s interesting about this analysis is that Lagi and co say that high food prices don’t necessarily trigger riots themselves, they simply create the conditions in which social unrest can flourish. In other words, high food prices lead to a kind of tipping point when almost anything can trigger a riot, like a lighted match in a dry forest. That leads to an obvious thought. Twitter network of Arab protests - interactive map | World news. World Politics. Protest Timeline, 21st Century.