Paper short abstract:

With the rise of a neoliberalism, the concept of participation is often used to draw subjects into the process of economic production. This has implications for participatory research methods. This paper argues that reflexive ethnography provides the tools to retain its emancipatory character.

Paper long abstract:

Participation has long been a demand of social movements.With the rise of a neoliberal "participation imperative", the concept of participation is often used to draw subjects, their creativity and imagination into the process of economic production. This has implications for participatory research methods: Involving actors into research process is not necessarily an empowering approach. Based on research in the urban Euromayday Movement of the Precarious, this paper argues that reflexive ethnography goes a long way in providing the tools to retain the emancipatory character of participatory research.