The Politics of Radical Research: A Manifesto

Key Insights

• •

  Researchers benefit from and simultaneously reproduce harmful systems, requiring deep self-awareness and accountability.

• •

  Empathy should be the baseline foundation of research, not the ultimate goal, because it cannot fully capture lived experience.

• •

  Centering marginalized people’s lived experiences must avoid appropriating or ‘stealing’ their stories.

• •

  Monetary compensation alone is insufficient; research should embody reciprocity, care, and generous ethical compensation.

• •

  Time is a weaponized, commodified social construct that contributes to extractive research practices for both researchers and participants.

• •

  Research is often treated like a mining operation, but humans must not be commodified as mining resources.

• •

  Researchers must differentiate between their right to engage versus feelings of entitlement and constantly reflect on access and privilege.

• •

  Trauma should not be treated as a prerequisite or ‘rite of passage’ for research participation, nor a justification for tokenism.

• •

  Researcher agency includes the power to choose to refuse participation or alter modes of engagement ethically.

• •

  Harm is inevitable in complex systems; acknowledging caused harm and repairing relationships is a critical ethical responsibility.

Notable Quotes