A "dinosaur researcher" in the German anti-authoritarian sphere. The impact of being both researcher and activist

A "dinosaur researcher" in the German anti-authoritarian sphere. The impact of being both researcher and activist. This article draws on a presentation made on May 20, 2015 in the seminar "Social Sciences in Question: the leading epistemological and methodological controversies of our time". It looks at an ethnographic study conducted in the anti-authoritarian movement in Gottingen (Germany) between 2013 and 2014. As both an activist and a researcher in the field, the author focuses on the benefits, implications and problems associated with this dual status. In a context that is hostile to researchers who are often assimilated to the secret services, being an activist provides a singular perspective on anti-authoritarian activism. However, it required a certain number of procedures for objectivation, to ensure a necessary distance from the fieldwork. It also raised a number of ethical questions to do with the relationship between the researcher and the research participants.