What Remains of the COVID-19 Protests for Intelligence Agencies in Europe – and How This Affects the Balance Between Security and Freedom

28 April 2026

The working paper “Between Dissent and Threat: European Intelligence Services, New Protest Movements, and the Tightrope between Security and Freedom” by Eva Herschinger discusses the launch of a “new object of observation” by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV). In light of widespread COVID-19 protests marked by sporadic violence, conspiracy narratives, and anti-Semitic sentiments, the BfV introduced a new category: “anti-constitutional delegitimization of the state.” In other European countries as well, domestic intelligence services have identified new targets for surveillance. Using this example, the paper analyzes the challenges facing intelligence services in defining heterogeneous, dynamic movements while balancing surveillance with the protection of civil liberties. This balance is particularly challenging due to the large participation of “ordinary” citizens who were hardly politically active before joining the COVID-19 protests – not least because, as critics argue, the category risks conflating legitimate protest with anti-democratic activity. The paper concludes with the observation that future crises may unfold similar dynamics, necessitating a European definition and cooperation.

The article can be downloaded here.

More information on the Working Paper Series of CISS Munich can be found here.