Corinne Torrekens ^{1 *} , Fabienne Brion ²

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 10, Issue 3, pp. 1-18

https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/18480

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Abstract

The concept of radicalization has become a focal point of scrutiny in both the media and academia. For almost a decade, scholars have emphasized the ongoing empirical shortcomings in this field, which has primarily relied on secondary data and theoretical speculation. While recent research has begun to address these gaps, critical epistemological engagement remains limited. This is particularly true given the 'reflexive turn' inspired by post-positivist approaches and the call for the decolonization of the social sciences, which emphasizes the importance of examining researchers' positionality, privilege, and potential complicity in reproducing gendered and racial hierarchies. Such reflections are particularly necessary in a research area where participants are often male, racialized, and socio-economically marginalized. This paper contributes to filling this void by drawing on insights from an 18-month empirical study of detainees convicted of terrorism or labelled as radicalized by penal institutions. We examine the negotiation processes required to gain access to detention centers, analyze the impact of surveillance and carceral protocols on our research practices, and reflect on the methodological and epistemological recalibrations undertaken throughout the project. In doing so, we advance a reflexive account of radicalization research that foregrounds the entanglement of knowledge production, power, and positionality.

Keywords: Fieldwork, Prison, Positionality, Reflexivity, Radicalization

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