BDI uses different tools and methodologies to track demonstrations and political violence in real time, providing new data and risk analysis so that local communities and national organizations will be better able to address issues before they escalate. We share these tools in public visualizations and analysis, as well as custom products for key partners and organizations.
BDI's work builds off of the invaluable contributions of both formal partners and other projects that already produce or collect open-source data.
Our formal data partners include:
- Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), US Crisis Monitor (General Guide / Methodology)
Our visualization and analysis also draws on a wide range of open-source data projects and public data sources, including:
- Anti-Defamation League (ADL) H.E.A.T Map, (FAQ)
- CountLove.org (FAQ)
- Crowd Counting Consortium (CCC), (About)
- FBI Hate Crime Statistics (Methodology)
- Global Terrorism Database (GTD), managed by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) (End User Agreement)
- Gun Violence Archive (Methodology and Explainer)
- MappingPoliceViolence.org (About the data)
- Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Hate Map (Methodology) and Who's Heritage? publication (Methodology)
BDI Reports and Issue Briefs
- Report: Election 2020 Political Violence Data and Trends
- Violence Prevention & De-escalation Resources for State & Local Officials
- Issue Brief: Trends in Demonstrations at Homes, May-December 2020
- Issue Brief: Unaffiliated Armed and Unidentified Communal Militia, January 2020 - June 2021
- Issue Brief: Understanding Emerging Trends in January 6 “Political Prisoners” Demonstrations, January 2021 - January 2022
- Issue Brief: Understanding Emerging Trends in Protests and Political Violence Around Abortion and Reproductive Rights in the United States
- Report: Threats and Harassment of Local Officials
- Report: High rates of harassment and threats may deter entry into local politics (with CivicPulse)
BDI State Brief Analysis
In order to provide key partners with a snapshot of state and local dynamics, Princeton Bridging Divides initiative prepared a series of state-specific "In Brief" summaries.
BDI's first series of state briefs were crafted ahead of the 2020 election, looking at 9 states, while the most recent spring 2021 analysis utilized the most recent data of protest, demonstrations and community violence to see any changes in those same states.
Analysis draws on multiple public data sources, including the US Crisis Monitor, Mapping Police Violence project, ADL HEAT Map, SPLC Hate Map, and a variety of local news sources in order to present a state and county-level description of recent trends and actors of concern.
US Crisis Monitor
US Crisis Monitor, a joint project of the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) and BDI, kick started ACLED's US-based work in 2020-2021. The project provided the public with real-time data and analysis on demonstrations and political violence across the United States.
Compared to other visualizations and analysis outlined below, ACLED data is updated most often (weekly).
Visit the U.S. Crisis Monitor main page for more on ACLED's U.S. methodology and to download the most up-to-date data.
Case Studies
The BDI team has conducted observations and interviews with the goal of helping community members tell their own stories of resilience.
- Mecklenburg, North Carolina (December 2022)
- Grand Traverse, Michigan (December 2022)
- Dahlonega, Georgia (May 2020)
Multi-Year Event and Incident Mapping
Prior year data on demonstrations and political violence is essential for understanding overall trends at a national and community level. In the U.S. context in particular, analysis requires a variety of data to help to represent historic and persistent political violence often committed against marginalized communities.
Drawing on open-source data projects and public data sources outlined above, BDI will provide a variety of public and custom event and incident visualizations that help communities consider trends over time.