Far-right researchers as intersectional subjects: Three arenas for emotional labour

This paper reflects on methodological and ethical challenges in researching the far-right, responding to the relatively limited focus on the impact of researching illiberal, or even hostile forms of mobilization on individual scholars. In this conceptual contribution, we engage critically with the emotional labour that is inherent to conducting research on the far-right ecosystem. We draw on Arlie Russel Hochschild’s seminal work to highlight the ways in which researching the far-right demands different types of emotional performance of the individual scholar, both in terms of performing emotion that is incongruent with the internal experience of the researcher, as well as the strategic suppression of emotions in different contexts. In doing so, we explore how the expectations and experiences of emotion work are inherently shaped by the researcher’s intersectional positionality. Overall, we provide a theoretical contribution that combines the rich body of literature on emotional labour with the growing volume of methodological and ethical reflections on research on the far-right continuum, through an understanding of researchers themselves as intersectional subjects. First, we map the emotional labour related to engagement with the field of study, in terms of gaining access to certain actors and environments, navigating issue of personal safety of the researcher, and in terms of interacting with illiberal, hostile and violent actors and content. Second, we explore the emotional labour required in interactions with the professional environment of academia, in terms of norms and expectations with regards to (emotionless and detached) researcher professionalism, navigating the financial precarity and insecurity of early-career academia, and in receiving limited support from institutions in the face of threats and harassment. Finally, we engage with issues related to navigating emotional performance in the private sphere, responding both to the need to share emotions and experiences, whilst maintaining a boundary between work and life.