NaDiRa-Kurzstudie: Black Lives Matter Europe

Protest against George Floyd's Death in Europe: Comparison of the Extent, Localisation and Resonance of Antiracist Protests in Germany, Denmark, Italy and Poland

National Monitoring of Discrimination and Racism (NaDiRa)

Project head: Dr. Elias Steinhilper ,  Prof. Dr. Sabrina Zajak

Project team members: Dr. Moritz Sommer

Running time October 2020 until December 2020
Status Completed project

Project team:

  • Elias Steinhilper
  • Moritz Summer
  • Sabrina Zajak
  • Folashade Ajayi
  • Noa Milman
  • Herbert Reiter
  • Donatella della Porta
  • Nicole Doerr, Piotr Kocyba
  • Piotr Płucienniczak
  • Anna Lavizzari

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Project description:

The project investigated the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in Europe, which were triggered by the violent death of the Black American in Minneapolis in May 2020. Among other things, we analysed the scope and forms of the protests in the summer of 2020 in four European countries, what national differences there were, also in terms of thematic framing, and how the protests were received in national public debates.

Results:

In Germany, Italy and Denmark, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests mobilised tens of thousands. In terms of population size, we found the highest mobilisation in Denmark of the four countries studied. In Poland, on the other hand, BLM protests were few and mostly small, especially compared to the size of the population.

Many young women were involved in organising the demonstrations. In Germany, Italy and Denmark, black people and other people of colour formed the organisational core of the protests. And in many places, the violent death of George Floyd, captured on video, politicised a new generation of activists who had hardly been politically active before.

In Germany and Denmark, the protests received remarkably extensive coverage. Moreover, the coverage was mostly positive and offered a lot of space for the demands of Black activists. In Italy, the media response was somewhat less and focused more on the situation in the USA. Analogous to the significantly lower level of mobilisation, the issue in Poland also hardly met with any media response.

Surprising insights:

Despite the considerable national differences, we were surprised by the strong transnational echo of Black Lives Matter. After all, the protests came at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic dominated the news and pandemic-related restrictions on contact and assembly made protest in the streets much more difficult. Italy, in particular, was heavily affected by the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020 and yet showed strong decentralised mobilisation.

Relevance for practice:

The study takes a first systematic look at the scale, resonance and organisation of Black Lives Matter protests in Europe. The results underline the role of anti-racist social movements as drivers of social change. In many places, the protests have helped shape the media agenda and thus the interpretation of the problem. In some cases, they were able to initiate or accelerate institutional change.

Our findings also provide insight into the organisational challenges and dynamics of anti-racist mobilisation. They thus offer points of reference for actors from civil society, politics and the media public in the thematic field of anti-racism.

Publications & Presentations:

N.Milman, F. Ajayi, D. della Porta, N. Doerr, P. Kocyba, A. Lavizzari, H. Reiter, P. Płucienniczak, M. Sommer, E. Steinhilper, S. Zajak: Black Lives Matter in Europe. Transnational diffusion, local translation and resonance of anti-racist protest in Germany, Italy, Denmark and Poland. DeZIM-Research Note 6 (2021), Berlin: Deutsches Zentrum für Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (DeZIM)

Ajayi, Folashade: Was haben die BLM-Proteste in Europa bewirkt? Lecture at DeZIM meets taz_talk #11, 08.02.21

Media reports:

Short studies in preparation of the Racism Monitor:

In order to prepare a comprehensive racism monitor, DeZIM called on academics* from the DeZIM research community in 2020 to develop innovative study ideas. These should extend existing research projects, pursue new and innovative approaches or build an infrastructure to research racism. By 2021, more than 120 researchers at the six locations of the DeZIM research community had conducted a total of 34 short studies. These are divided into six thematic priorities:

  • Health system
  • Education system and labour market
  • Institutional racism
  • Dealing with experiences of racism
  • Participation and the media
  • Racist ideologies and attitudes

Funding: Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Third-party funding)

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