Methodological and ethical challenges to studying far-right and anti-gender mobilizations 

Abstract

In recent years, scholars have argued that the concept of ‘gender’ has become “the right’s rallying cry” (Graff & Korolczuk 2021: 16) within the context of growing anxieties around modernity and change that have been weaponized by a range of actors with illiberal aims. Although mobilization against ‘gender ideology’ is regularly associated with the far-right, it may be best characterized by the broader definition of “retrogressive mobilization” (Bouvart, De Proost & Norocel 2019; Norocel & Băluță 2021), which conveys the variety of actors involved in anti-gender mobilization, ranging from mainstream conservative politicians and religious institutions, to far-right parties and movements. We argue that scholars in these two different, yet sometimes overlapping, fields may encounter similar challenges, thus providing fruitful opportunities for scholarly exchange. Academic inquiry into anti-gender mobilization today is a quickly expanding field (Ayoub & Stoeckl 2023/2024; Bogaards & Pető 2022; Kuhar & Paternotte 2017; Norocel & Paternotte 2023; Verloo, 2018). This notwithstanding, to date there is little explicit focus on the methodological and ethical challenges inherent to the study of anti-gender mobilization. We argue there is a particular need for discussions concerning the impact of researching illiberal forms of mobilization on the researcher themselves, and that go beyond understandings of researchers’ safety as primarily a matter of physical integrity. This panel thus aims to contribute to the expanding literature on methodological and ethical considerations in conducting research on far-right and anti-gender mobilization, from digital environments to institutional settings and in the street. We invite contributions that reflect on methodological and ethical challenges in various ways, not just in relation to the research participants or subjects, but also the researchers themselves. In doing so, we aim to further develop conversations about, and give attention to, researchers’ intersectional positionality and safety in relation to hostile and illiberal narratives and movements.

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