Authors:
Builds on the authors' extensive and recent first-hand experiences in authoritarian areas
Treats the challenges of the authoritarian field comprehensively and cross-regionally in the first Open Access publication on the topic
Demonstrates that fieldwork research in authoritarian contexts is possible and necessary, while being frank about the methodological, ethical and physical perils involved
Buying options
Table of contents (6 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
About this book
This open access book offers a synthetic reflection on the authors’ fieldwork experiences in seven countries within the framework of ‘Authoritarianism in a Global Age’, a major comparative research project. It responds to the demand for increased attention to methodological rigor and transparency in qualitative research, and seeks to advance and practically support field research in authoritarian contexts. Without reducing the conundrums of authoritarian field research to a simple how-to guide, the book systematically reflects and reports on the authors’ combined experiences in (i) getting access to the field, (ii) assessing risk, (iii) navigating ‘red lines’, (iv) building relations with local collaborators and respondents, (v) handling the psychological pressures on field researchers, and (vi) balancing transparency and prudence in publishing research. It offers unique insights into this particularly challenging area of field research, makes explicit how the authors handled methodological challenges and ethical dilemmas, and offers recommendations where appropriate.
Keywords
- Open Access
- research ethics
- authoritarian countries
- research methodology
- research in the authoritarian field
- risk and field research
- ethics and field research
- authoritarianism
- advice for field research
- research transparency
- research methods
- mental impact of field research
- planning for field research
- dangers of field research
Reviews
“This is a highly useful introductory guide to field work in authoritarian contexts that should be used both in the classroom and in the field. It offers practical advice on ethics and security risks, building connections, and writing up field research notes. It also includes insights on the much-neglected but important topic of the mental impact of doing field research in these contexts. The helpful checklist of Do's and Don'ts will be of particular value to junior researchers.” (Janine Clark, Professor of Political Science, University of Guelph, Canada)
Authors and Affiliations
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University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Marlies Glasius, Meta de Lange, Jos Bartman, Emanuela Dalmasso, Adele Del Sordi, Marcus Michaelsen, Kris Ruijgrok
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University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Aofei Lv
About the authors
Marcus Michaelsen is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Politics, University of Amsterdam. His research interests include media and political change, digital media activism, and the politics of internet governance, with a particular focus on Iran and the Middle East.
Jos Bartman is a PhD candidate at the Department of Politics, University of Amsterdam. He gained fieldwork experience during his research masters, during which he conducted four months of fieldwork in rural West-Bengal. For his current research he has conducted fieldwork in Veracruz (Mexico) and Gujarat (India), where he has interviewed targets and executors of political repression.
Kris Ruijgrok is a PhD candidate at the Department of Politics, University of Amsterdam. His research uses a mixed-methods approach to study the role of Internet in street protesting in authoritarian regimes. He has recently conducted fieldwork in Malaysia.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Research, Ethics and Risk in the Authoritarian Field
Authors: Marlies Glasius, Meta de Lange, Jos Bartman, Emanuela Dalmasso, Aofei Lv, Adele Del Sordi, Marcus Michaelsen, … Kris Ruijgrok
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68966-1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
License: CC BY
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-68965-4Published: 14 December 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-88692-3Published: 11 September 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-68966-1Published: 05 December 2017
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 122
Topics: Political Science, Sociological Methods, Science Ethics