Challenging Power Through Methods

Authors;Linet Mwirigi, Maureen Kabasa, Kennedy Mbeva, Joel Onyango

Introduction

In every sphere of life, different methods and power relations are at play. The dynamics and dimensionality of power and methods are evident in different disciplines, more so in research and academia. Historically, the seat of power in research is seen to be the global north, while the global south is seen to follow, with any dissenting voices that may challenge the status quo ignored, or not given safe spaces to express their dissent. This has triggered researchers today (especially in the global south) to interrogate the current methods and dynamics of power in the hope to decolonize them. On one hand, decolonizing methods involve challenging the set norms that have been applied traditionally. Decolonizing power, on the other hand, can be done by challenging the status quo through methods. This will result in the capacity to counter the current narratives on methods, and produce outputs that have constructive impacts in society, all while formulating policies that inform long-term changes.

This blog explores reflections following a webinar on Power and Methods, as part of the Decolonizing Sustainability Research series. The webinar brought together researchers, scholars, and conservationists to share their lived experiences, observations, lessons, and insights on the subject of power methods and its decoloniality. In exploring decoloniality, it is imperative that interdisciplinarity is acknowledged and each field accorded an equitable opportunity to interrogate its power dynamics. Only after this is accomplished, can we investigate the existing colonial methods, and explore the way forward after decoloniality.

Power and Methods

The perception of power is varied between individuals. However, the commonality in power dynamics is clarity on the ability of the powerful party to influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Power is habitually manifested through politics, ecologies, histories, academia, and culture. These fields can be used to examine power as either; legitimate, expert (due to knowledge or skills), coercive (dominance), referent, or reward. In research, for example, it is understood that power is held by the global north (who historically have the knowledge and skills, and can reward, punish and influence), and the global south – using methods from the north – is playing catch-up. This calls for researchers and scholars to examine the drivers and dynamics of power as currently constituted, in pursuit of decolonization. The status quo of power – as set by colonialism – is driven by narratives of actual and perceived power that are perpetuated over time,and lobbying of different interests. To challenge the dominant therefore, it is imperative to decolonize methods. By establishing and legitimizing methods from the global south that work and challenge the traditional colonial methods, Africa will be liberating itself in theory and practice.

Challenging power through methods

The deliberations highlighted five potential touchpoints through which researchers, practitioners, and policymakers could challenge dominance, elitism, and power that often diminish the agency of partners in the global south. In the blog, the authors argue that decolonizing methods by challenging power requires that partners understand decoloniality, while the global north- partners and elite researchers, practitioners, and policymakers recognize their positions of privilege. This positionality allows sustainability partners to not only acknowledge the power, but also challenge it, through everyday actions that facilitate knowledge generation, sharing, and utility of the information for decision making.

1.     Understanding Decoloniality

Power can be positively used to provide solutions, or underhandedly to derail progress. Discourse on decoloniality is timely and should be strategically prioritized in research methods. Researchers need to look inward, and amongst themselves in reflecting on the meaning of decoloniality of research methods. Does this mean doing away with the colonial methods and developing new ‘decolonized’ methods? Or working with a hybrid of methods that best serves the needs of the global south? This discourse should be held across disciplines and at multiple levels, to establish why it is necessary to decolonize methods and the direction to take after decoloniality. This calls for open dialogue on decoloniality, the possibility of employing decolonized methods in research, and how this process will inherently or explicitly affect the quality of research output.

Power is not something that exist in some isolation. Power is carried along certain spaces and these spaces include interests or different groups such as private sector; the practitioners and researchers.[Joanes Atela-Convener of ARIN]

2.     Recognizing Positions of Privilege

Privilege is often, hard to acknowledge. The privileged find themselves in positions of power, and often fear speaking up for the marginalized for fear of losing their privilege. This denial should be infiltrated by recognizing the marginalized voices that are left out in research. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers should be deliberate about recognizing their positions of privilege and seek to make their environments more inclusive for the marginalized. This will cast the net wider for conventional and unconventional research methods and processes while providing a platform through which diverse global voices interact and confront global and regional issues such as decoloniality in the global south.

 A revolution is needed from within, as it were to be able to reconfigure some of what is valued so that it can be understood and recognized that it’s not what the scientist thinks of as important that’s necessarily valuable. The local experiences, knowledge that are embedded within places that have history of understanding context is what is needed to be drawing on understanding more [Laura Pereira, Researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre]

3.     Acknowledging and Challenging power

To challenge power as presently constituted in research, practice, and policy, partners need to recognize that power is fluid and is inevitable in methods of choice. Despite political colonialism no longer being seen as a tough topic, it is still exhibited in research. This is seen in research processes and methods that are applied. Of particular interest is the sources and structure of research funding. The source of funding predominantly shapes how research is undertaken, with the associated pressure distinctly informing the research process and format of presenting findings. Similarly, power is seemingly yielded by the researcher, while the respondents are seen to submit. By acknowledging such prevalent dynamics, researchers can begin challenging power by creating equitable spaces for the marginalized and creating capacities for local industries to influence research and its methods.

People/researcher make little steps, whatever they can write in a corner where they are. If all individuals begin to brighten their corners and challenge some of these stuffs, then collectively they will get to where they are aiming for. The issue of decolonization must begin with each person. Reflexivity and being honest with self where they stand is paramount” [Matthew Mabefam, Sessional academic at the University of Melbourne.]

4.     Sharing Knowledge

In producing knowledge products of any kind, the goal is for these products to be made available and accessible to as many people as possible. This necessitates being innovative in methods through which output can be shared, which in itself is a tool for challenging power. The methods used in disseminating knowledge products need to be decolonized as well. For instance, there’s a need to move from using creative methods as just a decolonizing tool, but also as an innovative space where knowledge products from new methods can be propagated in scholarly communities. This will not only aid in the decoloniality of methods but also promote sustainability in research.

We can be a little bit less deterministic because it’s good to have commitment and to know what exactly one wants to do, but that should not preclude constant and frequent critical self-reflection where some of the things found faulty without, might also be a little bit faulty within. Many people have come from very many different perspectives. That shows how there are very different angles one can look at the issue, but they all agree. [Kennedy Mbeva, Deputy Convener of ARIN]

5.     Decision Making in Research

This calls for the recognition that the respondents, who are seen to be at the bottom, are part of decision-making and significant influence on researchers since they hold the key to the local knowledge and information that the researchers seek. This idea emanated from the opinion that researchers disempower the respondents in study areas by approaching them with ‘westernized’ languages and methods. This and other forms of micro-aggressions are seen to be colonial and lockout indigenous knowledge that could otherwise offer effective solutions to the problems that the researchers seek to study. By recognizing that respondents yield power over their knowledge, researchers will seek to decolonize the methods and approaches they use in carrying out research, ultimately capturing the indigenous knowledge and solutions in their purest forms, while acknowledging such marginalized voices in research.

The challenge of donor funding is often tied to the donor country itself. for example, in the UK and much of the research that I am involved in, relies on the UK side of the funding to be finalized before I can even start to develop my methods. And even then, there may be a year to do the research itself.  This skews the research towards power inequities. In order to really ensure that the research is beneficial for the people being researched, one has to do proper participatory research design which they can’t do unless they have the funding because it’s driven from where the funding is coming from. So, from onset, it’s likely to be biased. [Jonathan Kinsley, UK]

MOVING FORWARD

To embrace decoloniality of methods in whichever field, researchers need to self-reflect. This will enable them to acknowledge the power, it effects in theory and practice, and ways in which power dynamics lead to inequities and inequalities in research. Self-reflection will also enable them to recognize their privilege and by decolonizing, use this privilege to shift the system for equity, diversity, and sustainability in research. One of the pathways is by dispelling the distinction between scholars and practitioners since the primary goal is to achieve effective and efficient ways of undertaking research and disseminating research outputs. Secondly, researchers need to walk the talk and carry out research using decolonized methods. These pathways can further be advanced and propagated by investing in capacity building for decoloniality.  By acknowledging power dynamics and dimensionality, researchers create inclusive spaces through which capacities are built for indigenous knowledge to be incorporated, ultimately improving the quality of research. This calls for collaboration between all stakeholders; researchers and the respondents, with support from the funders and the respective governments.

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