Archiving as embodied research and security practice

Chukwuma, Kodili (2022) Archiving as embodied research and security practice. Security Dialogue, 53 (5). pp. 438-455. ISSN 0967-0106

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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.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Funding: The author received the University of East Anglia Faculty of Arts and Humanities Research Grant (2021) and the Sir Philip Rickett Educational Trust Funding (2021).
Uncontrolled Keywords:	archives,critical security studies,embodiment,ethnography,nigeria,political science and international relations,sociology and political science,sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3300/3320
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Dec 2021 10:30
Last Modified:	18 Aug 2023 13:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/82654
DOI:	10.1177/09670106221075954

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