DOI: 10.3886/icpsr34721.v1
title: The Use of Historical Analogies to Make Sense of Novel Events (423BC - 2012)
title: Version 1

description: The Use of Historical Analogies to Make Sense of Novel Events contains 4 parts: (1) Speeches, (2) Meetings, (3) Newspapers, and (4) Statements. The data consist of Excel data files with multiple spreadsheets, and Word and PDF documentation files which represent the various sources (speeches, articles, books, meetings notes) from which the data were collected. Book sources are not included in this release, but are referenced. Part 1 (Speeches) contains Excel data files and corresponding documentation files by historical speakers, such as Winston Churchill, President Barack Obama, and Thucydides' Brasidas and Nicias. Part 2 (Meetings) contains Excel data files and corresponding documentation files (transcripts) by historical meetings, such as the Watergate affair, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Persian Gulf War, and the Iraq War. Part 3 (Newspapers) contains one Excel data file for each event: the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the terrorist assault on Mumbai, India in November, 2008, and the demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square (starting in January 2011, which aimed to overthrow Egyptian President Mubarak); these Excel files have corresponding folders with documentation files that were compiled from various newspaper/online news article sources. Part 4 (Statements) contains one Excel data file, which corresponds to a book source of Osama bin Laden statements.
description: The main part of this collection provides quantitative analysis of the use of historical analogies in coverage of three events of global significance: (1) the September 11 attacks of 2001, (2) the terrorist assault on Mumbai, India, in November 2008, and (3) the large demonstrations that started on January 25, 2011 in Cairo's Tahrir Square, aiming to overthrow Egyptian President Mubarak.
description: Each event (9/11, Mumbai, Tahrir Square) was systematically coded by the historical analogies used in selected newspapers of five countries: (1) United States, (2) Israel, (3) Lebanon, (4) India, and (5) China. In each case, the first seven days after the initial event date of coverage were coded. Relevant articles were selected on the basis of key words. For the three cases, the key words were respectively "World Trade Center," "Mumbai" (for the Times of India both "Mumbai" and "attack"), and "Egypt". All together, there were 477,000 words in the relevant articles. In a second step, coding began at the one-year and ten-year anniversaries of the relevant events. In addition to the newspaper coverage, speeches, meetings, and the statements by Osama Bin Laden (1994-2004) were analyzed. The selected speeches (423BC - 2009) were given by leaders in times of crisis (military or economic) to reassure their audience of ultimate success. The meetings cover a variety of topics, beginning with World War II (1941) up to the 2003 Iraq War.
description: None
description: Datasets: 
 
 DS0: Study-Level Files 
 DS1: Speeches 
 DS2: Meetings 
 DS3: Newspapers 
 DS4: Statements
description: This collection has not been processed by ICPSR and includes the data and documentation files as originally deposited.
description: Smallest Geographic Unit: country
description: Cases were selected for newspaper analysis on the basis that each was an event of global significance with a specific starting date that presented a novel stimulus which evoked efforts to make sense of its meaning. The selected speeches (423BC - 2009) were given by leaders in times of crisis (military or economic) to reassure their audience of ultimate success. The meetings cover a variety of topics beginning with World War II (1941) up to the 2003 Iraq War.