Abstract
ABSTRACTIn this article, we propose a sociological model for the assessment of ethics in research on conflict and terrorism. We move beyond the rather narrow, procedural approaches that currently dominate contemporary discussion, seeking to broaden ethical considerations to include questions of social power, academic freedom, and the politics of knowledge production, as well as a consideration of the public function of the university. We argue that social scientists have both a professional responsibility to protect the integrity of scientific knowledge, and public responsibilities to the wider societies of which they are part. Navigating ethical questions, we suggest, therefore requires a reflexive engagement with the social conditions of knowledge production; a careful consideration of the social impact of research; and a dialogue with a variety of ‘publics’, not merely policy actors. The main body of the paper reviews the range of writing on the ethics of ‘terrorism studies’, engages with the question of institutional oversight and then examines the ethics of the current ‘impact agenda’ in UK universities. We conclude by drawing on our empirical findings and applying them to our proposed model to argue for: a significant revision to ethical policies and guidelines (and better means of enforcement) so as to better protect vulnerable research subjects; offer greater protections to researchers from (especially) powerful interests which attempt to smear, constrain or undermine independent research; make unethical research (which we argue is widespread) more visible, with the intent that it be managed down.
Highlights
Research into conflict and ‘terrorism’ is by its nature beset with ethical challenges and dilemmas
The current ethical discourse, largely inherited from the medical model, is mostly focused on protecting vulnerable research subjects from potential harm arising directly from participation in research (Hammersley & Traianou, 2012). These issues should be taken very seriously in the context of researching ‘terrorism’, there are distinct and broader ethical questions when it comes to potential harms to research subjects and to other actors, including researchers themselves
Our aim here is to synthesise some of these issues and concerns with those raised by ‘orthodox’ terrorism studies scholars, and to develop a more sociological approach to the politics and ethics of research in this area; an approach which considers the potential harm caused to research participants, as is presently the focus of research institutions, and potential harm to researchers, as well as the broader societal impact of research
Summary
Research into conflict and ‘terrorism’ is by its nature beset with ethical challenges and dilemmas.
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