Witnessing the Crisis: The Political and Ethical Challenges of Migration Regime Activist Research at the Polish-Belarusian Border Available to Purchase

This article analyzes the epistemological and ethical challenges and difficulties of conducting research on the humanitarian crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border from the dual perspectives of the researcher and the activist. The distinctive feature of this research is its overtly political engagement, which necessitates a departure from the conventional “objective” stance and an immersion in the work at the grassroots level. The research is also characterized by significant constraints on access to key stakeholders, with many border activities remaining clandestine and covert. Conducting this type of research also necessitates a nuanced approach and requires great care in relation to the categories, meanings, and discourses employed and the manner and extent to which the different parties involved in the crisis are given voice, as well as the utilization of these voices in scholarly narratives.