Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the ethical implications of forming friendships and trust relationships as a research method under extreme political pressure in contemporary Xinjiang and the resulting impact for the mental wellbeing of the anthropologist during and after fieldwork.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses the ethical implications of forming friendships and trust relationships as a research method under extreme political pressure in contemporary Xinjiang and the resulting impact for the mental wellbeing of the anthropologist during and after fieldwork.

The abundant anthropological literature on ethical dilemmas during fieldwork are mostly concerned with the researcher's positionality from a professional ethical standpoint. But the mental wellbeing of the researcher who has formed emotional bonds with the people he or she studies, is still largely neglected as a topic of academic discussion.

The content of this paper is based on my own fieldwork experiences among Uyghurs in Urumqi, Xinjiang, where research is not only logistically difficult but also emotionally straining. Constant police supervision and the lingering threat of imprisonment for research participants result in enormous mental and ethical pressure for the anthropologist. I argue that relationships in the field and the psychological consequences for the researcher are still too theoretically discussed in anthropological literature and academia. The focus on the anthropologist having to consider ethical dilemmas in contact with research participants results in neglecting his or her own mental health during the course of fieldwork. Presenting my own fieldwork experience in a very restrictive political environment, I argue that the method of friendship resulting in multiple emotions and mental dilemmas for the researcher that need to be addressed without the pressure of being dismissed as unprofessional.