Back and forth : militant ethnography in the 'crowded fields'

During my fieldwork on the disobedience and disloyalty of female activists in public space in (post-)Yugoslav space, I often heard critical comments about their past experiences with feminist researchers. Issues such as lack of subjectivity, lack of solidarity, and inequality in relations caused fatigue and boredom among activists. Those comments led me to reassess my research practice, where knowledge and ‘good intentions’ can be far from ideal in practice. It also gave me the opportunity to reflect on the need to introduce a methodology that seeks to move beyond the divide between research practice and politically engaged participation. In order to problematise ethnographic practice embedded in transnational ‘crowded fields’ that encompass the dynamics of relationships and dependencies between networks of knowledge producers, I use a methodological approach of ‘militant ethnography’. Politically committed ethnographic research models that focus on being among and within activist networks and assuming multiple identities and roles by constantly shifting between reflective solidarity, empathic insight, and analysis.