The Case for accompaniment in struggles against the state: designing ethically sensible and response research partnerships in political science
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Civically engaged research involves political scientists collaborating with research partners to strengthen the governance of social problems. Yet, how can academics play a role in the co-production of knowledge without monopolizing it? In this article, we borrow from accompaniment scholarship to design a process in which political scientists work alongside their research partners rather than studying them. We use a case study that draws upon four years of field work with 150 asylum seekers from Latin America in the United States to demonstrate how academics, service providers, and grassroots organizers can work together as a team to position asylum seekers as the main experts and critical thinkers in policymaking and implementation. Through accompaniment, we found that asylum seekers increased their political skills as they participated in research activities in co-creating and disseminating results. Our work shows that a mutually supportive context for exchanging ideas and sharing expertise, not solely dependent on academics, provided a productive channel to pursue action in areas where political systems and nongovernmental organizations failed people.
Source: Politics Groups and Identities
Authors: Adriano Udani, Maria Torres Wedding
Institution: University of Minnesota
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4407778227