Protest in the time of COVID

ABSTRACT

The aim of this research note is to carry out a protest event analysis in Spain in 2020, while inserting it into a broader longitudinal study (2000-2020) in order to discuss the extent to which collective action has been transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study addresses, from a database built through PEA (protest event analysis), both the quantitative dimensions of the protest and its main qualitative characteristics (type of participants, demands, organizers, methods, and objectives), and compare them to the protest dynamics observed in previous years. Results show that protests did not decrease in pandemic as much as might be expected (although participation did) and that a particular and differentiated profile of protest can be identified in times of COVID.