Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration Studies
This article investigates the asymmetrical power relations between researchers and the researched in the context of multi-sited ethnographies on undocumented migration. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted along migration trajectories linking Afghanistan to Germany in Iran, Turkey, Greece and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Helsinki University Press
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of Migration Research |
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| Online Access: | https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/766 |
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| author | Hannah Pool |
| author_facet | Hannah Pool |
| author_sort | Hannah Pool |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article investigates the asymmetrical power relations between researchers and the researched in the context of multi-sited ethnographies on undocumented migration. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted along migration trajectories linking Afghanistan to Germany in Iran, Turkey, Greece and the so-called Balkan route between 2018 and 2022, the article critically engages with two issues that contribute to the enactment of asymmetrical power relations between migrants and researchers: First, it demonstrates how passport hierarchies determine researchers’ very capacity to conduct multi-sited research and to follow their research interlocutors across borders, privileging those with passports that allow visa-free entry to multiple countries. Second, it highlights how the unequal distribution of research funding determines who can afford to conduct multi-sited research, and how this affects the financial value attached to the time spent by researchers and research interlocutors. Subsequently, it shows how undocumented migrants can – even under highly deprived and precarious conditions – renegotiate these asymmetrical power relations through practices of hosting researchers on their own terms. In this way, the article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the ethical, power-related and financial challenges present in conducting transnational, multi-sited ethnographies in migration studies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5e730ef985945a388cb036b951f3b41 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1799-649X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Helsinki University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Migration Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5e730ef985945a388cb036b951f3b412025-01-08T08:39:14ZengHelsinki University PressNordic Journal of Migration Research1799-649X2024-12-011443310.33134/njmr.766742Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration StudiesHannah Pool0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3192-8480Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, CologneThis article investigates the asymmetrical power relations between researchers and the researched in the context of multi-sited ethnographies on undocumented migration. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted along migration trajectories linking Afghanistan to Germany in Iran, Turkey, Greece and the so-called Balkan route between 2018 and 2022, the article critically engages with two issues that contribute to the enactment of asymmetrical power relations between migrants and researchers: First, it demonstrates how passport hierarchies determine researchers’ very capacity to conduct multi-sited research and to follow their research interlocutors across borders, privileging those with passports that allow visa-free entry to multiple countries. Second, it highlights how the unequal distribution of research funding determines who can afford to conduct multi-sited research, and how this affects the financial value attached to the time spent by researchers and research interlocutors. Subsequently, it shows how undocumented migrants can – even under highly deprived and precarious conditions – renegotiate these asymmetrical power relations through practices of hosting researchers on their own terms. In this way, the article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the ethical, power-related and financial challenges present in conducting transnational, multi-sited ethnographies in migration studies.https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/766ethnographytransnationalismresearch ethicspassportsmulti-sited ethnography |
| spellingShingle | Hannah Pool Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration Studies Nordic Journal of Migration Research ethnography transnationalism research ethics passports multi-sited ethnography |
| title | Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration Studies |
| title_full | Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration Studies |
| title_fullStr | Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration Studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration Studies |
| title_short | Research Funding and Passport Hierarchies: Power Asymmetries in Multi-Sited Ethnographies in Migration Studies |
| title_sort | research funding and passport hierarchies power asymmetries in multi sited ethnographies in migration studies |
| topic | ethnography transnationalism research ethics passports multi-sited ethnography |
| url | https://account.journal-njmr.org/index.php/uh-j-njmr/article/view/766 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hannahpool researchfundingandpassporthierarchiespowerasymmetriesinmultisitedethnographiesinmigrationstudies |