Researching the Politics of Illegal Activities
Abstract
Researching illegal activities, while an object of increasing interest, generates a range of methodological challenges for political scientists. Rather than an exhaustive discussion, this article provides a simple framework that structures these challenges. It highlights that illegality itself is an insufficient guide to method development and needs to be supplemented by an analysis of three further dimensions: enforcement, normalisation and ethics. The article notes that beyond providing insights into the feasibility and challenges of different methodologies, examining these dimensions also directly point researchers to key political science questions about illegal activities themselves.
Citation
Gallien, M. (2021) 'Researching the Politics of Illegal Activities', Political Science & Politics [Preprint]Gallien, M. (2021). Researching the Politics of Illegal Activities. PS: Political Science & Politics, 1-5. doi:10.1017/S1049096521000317
DOI
10.19088/IDS.2021.02610.1017/S1049096521000317
Is part of series
Political Science & Politics;More details
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096521000317Rights holder
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association.Rights details
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Collections
- Journal Articles - External [429]
- IDS Research [1671]