Doing Research as a Native : A Guide for Fieldwork in Illiberal and Repressive States

Doing Research as a Native examines the specific challenges faced by researchers conducting fieldwork in their native repressive and/or illiberal countries. It presents narratives from 19 scholars, representing 15 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, South America, Central Asia and South Asia, who conducted fieldwork in their native repressive and/or illiberal countries. These researchers encountered obstacles directly related to their native status, particularly with regard to their gender, race and ethnicity. This volume also provides practical guidance on how to address these challenges.

Numerous publications have examined the challenges faced by non-native (often Western) academics conducting research in repressive countries. However, discussions of the unique security risks experienced by native scholars seem to be largely absent. While native academics face many of the challenges highlighted in existing publications, such as data security, access to informants, and personal safety, they also face additional risks and distinct obstacles, including weight of local identity markers, governmental pressure on family, legal threats from local authorities, and exploitation by non-native colleagues.Doing Research as a Nativeaddresses this critical gap in the literature through fieldwork accounts from 19 social science and humanities researchers who conducted fieldwork in their 15 repressive and/or illiberal home countries and faced challenges directly related to their position as native scholars. The book identifies the risks and obstacles faced by these scholars and also provides practical guidance for the preparation and carrying out of fieldwork, including methodological suggestions and coping strategies.