[IMCnetwork] Fwd: EoI: Authoritarian and Challenging Environments Research Workshop: 8 July 2025 @ Sydney Uni

[Nick Cheesman]

Dear IMCers

This workshop in July may be of interest to some.

Best wishes
Nick


Begin forwarded message:

From: Sarah Phillips <sarah.phillips at sydney.edu.au>
Subject: EoI: Authoritarian and Challenging Environments Research Workshop: 8 July 2025 @ Sydney Uni
Date: 7 April 2025 at 9:54:12 am AEST
To: Minglu Chen <minglu.chen at sydney.edu.au>

Hi everyone,

Collecting high quality data on authoritarian and challenging environments is an increasingly difficult and dangerous proposition, at a time when the significance of such work has never been so great. This workshop, hosted by the APSA Authoritarian and Challenging Environments Research Group (ACERG) and the University of Sydney, aims to foster a national conversation on the research crisis in order to support safer field research and seed methodological innovation.

The one-day workshop will take place on 8 July 2025 at the University of Sydney. It will include panel-led discussions with scholars (all levels welcome) who apply innovative methods to their research on authoritarian or challenging environments. We will also have an opportunity to discuss updates to our fieldwork guide (https://auspsa.org.au/fieldwork-guide-for-researchers-in-authoritarian-and-challenging-environments/).

The workshop will be followed by an informal dinner where we can continue to discuss potential collaborations and next steps for the network.

We invite applications from scholars across all levels in Australia who work on authoritarian or challenging environments, and who are interested in contributing to the national conversation on the research crisis.

As spaces are limited, please complete the expression of interest form by 1 May 2025:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WKEHHzLC6DHkDWJ4_FTQiZUrH6Aot3JpHxHv_OeOpG8/edit

We have organised this event to be held the day before the OCIS conference begins in Sydney, in the hope that most people will have already secured (/will be able to secure) funding for accommodation and travel 😊

Travel funding will be made available to a limited number of interstate applicants, and will give priority to ECRs and PhD candidates in its allocation.

Participants must be APSA members, although they may join after receiving their notification of acceptance.

About ACERG

ACERG was formed by Dara Conduit (co-convener), Shahar Hameiri (University of Queensland, co-convener) and Sam Wilkins (RMIT, Treasurer) in 2023 in response to the crisis of political science field research. Despite being a central tool of political science data collection, fieldwork is becoming increasingly untenable to undertake in authoritarian and challenging environments. It is in this context that we established this (APSA) Specialist Group was to support researchers (particularly PhDs and ECRs) to (1) Learn how to undertake fieldwork safely to mitigate risks as much as possible, (2) Evaluate the ethical considerations that are now associated with in-person research, and (3) To support methodological innovation to develop alternatives to in-person research.

This year the workshop is being co-convened by Sarah Phillips and Minglu Chen at The University of Sydney. Please direct any questions about the workshop to me.

Cheers,
Sarah and Minglu

Professor Sarah G. Phillips
Professor of Global Conflict and Development
Australian Research Council Future Fellow
Non-Resident Fellow at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies (Yemen)
Discipline of Government and International Relations
Room 438 Social Sciences Building (A02)
The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006
T +61 2 9114 0833
Please note: I don’t expect you to reply outside of your normal working hours
E  sarah.phillips at sydney.edu.au<mailto:sarah.phillips at sydney.edu.au>
W http://sydney.edu.au/arts/government_international_relations/staff/profiles/sarah.phillips.php
W www.sarahphillips.org<https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/74OSC71ZgLt2MzPOURMBXS?domain=sarahphillips.org>

* “In times like these,” Allegra Lab, February 2025, https://allegralaboratory.net/in-times-like-these/
* “Trivializing Terrorists: How Counterterrorism Knowledge Undermines Local Resistance to Terrorism” (with Nadwa al-Dawsari, 2024), Security Studies, 33:1, 30-54. (Open Access): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09636412.2023.2250253?src=
* “Trivializing Terrorists: An Exchange – The Author Replies” (with Nadwa al-Dawsari, 2024), Security Studies, 33:4, 711-716 (Open Access):https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09636412.2024.2382896

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