Archiving as embodied research and security practice

Kodili Chukwuma

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)
    16 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    This article explores the importance of embodiment in (research on) archival practices on state counter-terrorism policy in Nigeria. In doing so, the article seeks to contribute to the ongoing discussion around methodology and methods in critical security studies and other related fields in international relations by focusing on (researchers’) bodies as sites of knowledge production and intervention. Building on three empirical themes of fragmentation, labelling and gatekeeping that emerged from fieldwork in Abuja, Nigeria, I demonstrate how embodiment operates in active research contexts in the production – and problematization – of in/security. To do this, I draw inspiration from ideas around state archival practice; embodiment in critical security studies, especially as discussed in feminist and postcolonial work; and in/security theory to scaffold my broader methodological approach. A focus on embodiment, the article argues, marks the researcher’s body – and research – as integral to the development of theories and findings about security. At the same time, exploring the ways in which the (researcher’s) body is (re)produced in relation to identity and subjectivity encourages greater reflexivity in our research practice and fieldwork, as we are continually reminded that our work and our words are grounded in the standpoints that we occupy. The article concludes by identifying some useful strategies from my fieldwork for grappling with the challenges and tensions that emerge from bodily encounters in (security) research process.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)438-455
    Number of pages18
    JournalSecurity Dialogue
    Volume53
    Issue number5
    Early online date23 Apr 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

    Keywords

    • Archives
    • critical security studies
    • embodiment
    • ethnography
    • Nigeria

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