Theorizing as situated politics: alternative-organization-led theorizing in <i>militant research</i>

Purpose The purpose of this paper is dual: to introduce militant research, an activist feminist approach to qualitative empirical research, and to present this militant researcher’s novel idea of alternative-organization-led, rather than researcher-led, theorizing for developing concepts through the Frankensteinian feminist weaving approach. This is proposed to address limited political pluralism in empirical research theorizing due to dominance of individualist practices, specifically masculinized, hegemonic and colonial, that necessitate extractivism. Design/methodology/approach The Frankensteinian feminist weaving approach for developing concepts is formed upon the political practices of specific Greek anarchic worker co-operatives. In the service of these alternative organizations and their radically pluralist, horizontal and reflective political practices, the work of activist feminist militant research collective Colectivo Situaciones and their “communitarian weaving”, and feminist institutional researcher Ann Cunliffe’s radical reflexivity, intuition and imagination are employed. The approach consists of three practices: choosing theoretical “threads”, bringing theoretical “threads” together and thinking on concepts. Examples from this author’s previous militant research illustrate the approach in action. Findings Through the Frankensteinian feminist weaving approach, this paper argues that alternative-organization-led theorizing limits individualist politics and extractivism in research, specifically hegemonic and colonial masculinities in the form of researcher-led theorizing practices, by doing theorizing as situated politics; the three theorizing practices composing the approach are done as situated political practices of reflective pluralist radical horizontality. Originality/value The originality of the alternative-organization-led theorizing for developing concepts lies in highlighting the politics of theorizing and extending political pluralism by proposing an anti-hegemonic and anti-colonial political theorizing approach for developing concepts that limits extractivism by (1) not being researcher-led and (2) doing situated politics as theorizing and situated theorizing as politics. Consequently, it responds to the broader feminist call for political pluralism, and particularly, pluralism in qualitative empirical research theorizing in militant research. The originality of the Frankensteinian feminist weaving approach lies in not being suggested for reuse but only serving as an exemplar; reusing it would constitute a hegemonic and colonial practice toward other alternative organizations.