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Paper short abstract

Based on ongoing activist research in the EU–Moroccan Borderland, this paper explores comradeship as care-based method, asking how friendship and political struggle might enable or constraint ethnographic knowledge production.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores methodologies of care in my ongoing activist research on the emotions and affective arrangements of solidarity within the No Border network—an autonomous social movement that opposes border regimes and supports migrants. Drawing on long-term participant observation in the EU–Moroccan Borderland, the paper explores how care functions not only as an ethical commitment toward migrants and among activists, but also as a methodological lens shaping knowledge production in engaged anthropology.

As both researcher and activist, I became deeply involved in friendships, comradeships, and mutual support with my interlocutors. These bonds were shaped by care, solidarity, and affection, and provided access to intimate knowledge, particularly regarding difficult emotional experiences. Such close engagements however continuously raise questions about my own positionality as anthropologist as well as the emotional labour involved in participating in activist practices. At the same time, everyday practices of care—such as sharing emotional support and collective reflections—became vital tools for managing stress, emotional strain, and the affective weight of both border activism and engaged anthropology.

By exploring friendship and comradeship as method, the paper asks how relational closeness both facilitates and constrains ethnographic insight. It reflects on how care can help navigate epistemic divides between activists and researchers, while academic concerns occasionally take a back seat to the demands of close, ethical engagement. Overall, it situates care not only as an ethical stance, but as an affective and political practice.