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Profiling Insurrection: Characterizing Collective Action Using Mobile Device Data

Author

Listed:
  • David Van Dijcke

    (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

  • Austin L. Wright

    (University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy)

Abstract

We develop a novel approach for estimating spatially dispersed community-level participation in mass protest. This methodology is used to investigate factors associated with participation in the ‘March to Save America’ event in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. This study combines granular location data from more than 40 million mobile devices with novel measures of community-level voting patterns, the location of organized hate groups, and the entire georeferenced digital archive of the social media platform Parler. We find evidence that partisanship, socio-political isolation, proximity to chapters of the Proud Boys organization, and the local activity on Parler are robustly associated with protest participation. Our research fills a prominent gap in the study of collective action: identifying and studying communities involved in mass-scale events that escalate into violent insurrection.

Suggested Citation

  • David Van Dijcke & Austin L. Wright, 2021. "Profiling Insurrection: Characterizing Collective Action Using Mobile Device Data," Working Papers 2021-13, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bfi:wpaper:2021-13
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    File URL: https://repec.bfi.uchicago.edu/RePEc/pdfs/BFI_WP_2021-13.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Grolemund, Garrett & Wickham, Hadley, 2011. "Dates and Times Made Easy with lubridate," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 40(i03).
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    Cited by:

    1. Klinenberg, Danny, 2024. "Selling Violent Extremism," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt2rj4t2rh, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
    2. Francesco Iacoella & Patricia Justino & Bruno Martorano, 2021. "Do pandemics lead to rebellion? Policy responses to COVID-19, inequality, and protests in the USA," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-57, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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