Book Talk and Workshop on “Doing Research as a Native: A Guide for Fieldwork in Illiberal and Repressive States”

This Rencontre Ibn Khaldun event will explore the challenges particular to researchers conducting fieldwork in their native repressive and/or illiberal home countries. Dr. Kira Jumet (Hamilton College, US) and Dr. Merouan Mekouar (York University, Canada) will present and discuss their recently published edited volume “Doing Research as a Native” (Oxford University Press, 2025). The book talk is followed by a subsequent workshop session, designed to offer practical, hands-on advice and provide plenty of time for questions and conversation.

Abstract of the edited volume: 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 Native addresses 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.

Location: MECAM, (HIDE) 27, Rue Florian – Borj Zouara (Bab Saadoun), Tunis