Paper long abstract:

The contribution analyses the role of research brokers in social sciences' research in Africa. With an increasing number of places which are not accessible for Western researchers because of the security concerns, the role of brokers in research is becoming essential. Moreover, their voice in the research is usually the one which is heard the most strongly. However, there is a growing ethical dilemma about their input to the research. Among the questions which arise with this type of research may be brokers' and interlocutors' security, confidentiality, and reliability; their position as co authors even though they did not write a single world; or their possible dependence on researchers' sources which may establish another patron-client relationship and bias for the research as a whole. Thus, there is a huge question of objectivity of the data collected by them and, in general, of their contribution as co authors. The contribution wants to put this issue into a normative and ethical light. It is based on personal experience from extensive field research taking place in (Red area) Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon (NoSo) and also on findings of ongoing research of team from Uppsala University led by Mats Utas, which is called "Exploring the Research Backstage - Methodological, Theoretical and Ethical Issues Surrounding the Role of Local Research Brokers in Insecure Zones." The author is aware that his empirical findings will not analyse the situation in the Great Lake region and that they will mainly come from different areas. However, he is convinced that these ethical dilemmas are also present in the research of other African regions.

Paper Download (255 KB)