How are the main social conflict structures in Germany changing? Social media analysis of collective protests and social movements

Project description

Conflicts are a driving force of social change and a supporting element of modern democracies. This is especially true for regulated conflicts such as party competition. By continuously balancing opposing interests, conflicts of this kind make a significant contribution to social integration. However, as soon as conflicts unfold in an unregulated manner – the spectrum ranges from hate speech online to collective violence offline – they can undermine the social order.

The interdisciplinary project examined the transformation of structures and dynamics of social conflicts in Germany. Using NLP methods, digital data sources (news portals and platforms like Twitter) and protest-relevant reporting from selected print media in the German-speaking area were processed into an extensive database. Data analysis was conducted using qualitative and computer-assisted quantitative methods (especially discourse analysis, protest event analysis, and methods of natural language processing and machine learning). Additionally, a network analysis of actors involved in protest movements and conflicts was conducted. The basis for this was process-generated data in the form of digital communication, interaction, and relationship structures, primarily from social media platforms, as well as linking structures on blogs and websites and discussion structures derived from media reports and comments.

The central research questions of the team were:

How have social conflict structures in Germany changed over the past 20 years?
What are the consequences for democracy given the increasing shift of conflicts to social media?
Under what conditions can unregulated conflicts be transformed into regulated ones?

The analysis showed that collective identity has transformed into an emergent phenomenon through digital platforms, which remains independent of specific actors in a protest collective. The team found that the shift of conflicts to digital platforms was followed by polarization and normative charging of conflicts. Researchers identified two major changes in the conduct of conflicts on digital platforms: an emotionalized perception of conflicts and the different interpretations of scientific results for mobilization purposes. The online space is classified as an arena for unregulated conflicts, and only partially are results transferred to regulated conflicts.

The project was completed by 30 June, 2023.