Paper Short Abstract:

In 2023, a conflict escalated in my long-term field site in northern Somalia. Given my “expertise”, I felt compelled to engage publicly and ended up in a virtual battlefield. The presentation asks about the ethical dimensions and the limits of this type of public engagement.

Paper Abstract:

I wish to highlight a recent case of publicly engaged anthropology that emerged from my long-term research in northern Somalia. For many years, I have been researching conflict dynamics there, always trying to keep some middle ground between various conflict parties in the region. I found this analytical distance to be a necessary precondition for what I considered to be the main job of a researcher (following Max Weber): to contribute to a better understanding of social complexities. Yet, when the conflict I have been researching for over 20 years escalated violently in 2023, I found myself quickly on the activist side. I publicly engaged on social media, initially to provide historical background to the current events. Soon I used my contacts in the region to present daily updates on the dynamics of the conflict. This engagement positioned me at a virtual frontline in a war that happened on the ground and in social media. I became an enemy for some, and I was treated accordingly on the virtual battle field. Reflecting on this experience, I will talk about what collaborative and engaged anthropology means in the context of escalating violent conflict. I will also ask if one should refrain from public engagement, if it hurts the anthropologist, but also others in the field (with the “other side” in the current conflict also being part of my long-standing research). What I am interested in here, at a general level, are the (pre-)conditions and the limits of public engagement.