Beyond Tokenism: Strategies to Co-Disseminate With Migrant Co-Researchers and Expand Their Roles in Neoliberal Academia

Academic researchers face significant challenges in achieving genuine participation during the dissemination phase when co-researching with forced migrants due to mobility restrictions, anonymity and security concerns, and limited time or resources. Co-dissemination often becomes tokenistic, perpetuating extractivist dynamics within neocolonial academic practice. Drawing on four initiatives in Spain, Belgium, and Australia that involve forced migrants as co-researchers, our contribution highlights the gap between participatory ideals and their practical implementation. We propose a participatory framework grounded in principles of Presence, Accountability, Reach, and Return to re-imagine ethical research practices that expand co-researchers’ roles and prioritize meaningful and transformative co-dissemination.