Research ethics and state power: access vs. integrity in the study of armed actors

In the study of armed actors, the state poses significant – yet often unrecognised – ethical challenges for researchers. This article provides a framework for researchers to pro-actively manage their relationships with the state. First, we show how the state affects the ethics of research on armed actors. Then we illustrate the danger of ignoring, discounting, or misreading the state, both at home and abroad. We question common assumptions about state unity, competence, and legitimacy, and we identify a persistent ethical dilemma between <i>access</i>, which is often mediated or controlled by the state, and<i> integrity</i>. We probe this dilemma via three dimensions of state power: the power of funding and partnership; the power of policy laundering; and the power of gatekeeping, surveillance, and coercion. Ultimately, we argue that ethically sound research on armed actors requires researchers to carefully and continuously re-examine their beliefs about the state. Along the way, we offer practical guidance on interacting with state-backed funders; mitigating risk and tempering the influence of the state during fieldwork; and thinking through the state’s complex and contradictory roles. We also raise uncomfortable questions about the red lines separating researchers’ interests from states’ interests.