Navigating Methodological Challenges in Authoritarian Contexts: Insights from Research on Political Legitimacy

This paper examines the methodological and ethical challenges of conducting qualitative research in authoritarian contexts, using Turkey under the current government as a case study. Adopting a constructivist-interpretivist framework, the study combines semi-structured interviews and short-term ethnographic methods to investigate how economic and social policies influence public perceptions of value-based legitimacy. This dual-method approach allows for a deeper understanding of the lived experiences, emotions, and narratives that shape legitimacy beliefs in politically sensitive settings. The paper discusses the integration of ethnographic observations from two distinct sites, an urban and an industrial one, into the broader qualitative research design. Through informal interactions and observations in public and semi-private spaces, the study captures nuances that extend beyond self-expressed opinions, providing a richer context for interpreting interview data. Particular attention is given to how individuals articulate legitimacy within their socio-economic and cultural environments, highlighting the interplay between political narratives and everyday life. The research also addresses key ethical and practical concerns, including framing research neutrally, navigating self-censorship, and ensuring participant and researcher safety. It reflects on the challenges of accessing honest and meaningful data in authoritarian settings, as well as the implications of researcher positionality and the negotiation of trust. By demonstrating the value of combining interviews with ethnographic techniques, this paper contributes to broader debates on methodological pluralism in political science. It argues that such an approach offers critical insights into legitimacy and power in authoritarian regimes, challenging the dominance of positivist traditions while emphasising the need for reflexivity and cultural sensitivity in qualitative research.