Studying Political Elite in Pakistan: Power Relations in Research

Abstract

This article details the ethical, social and political dilemmas that a researcher has to face in studying the political elite. It is argued that the all too common assumption about the vulnerability, thus need to protection, of research participants does not hold true in research with powerful political elite. Political elite have powers to determine, among other things, some fundamental research processes such as who studies them, how they are studied and for how long, rendering the researcher vulnerable in the researcher-researched relationship. It is suggested that the standard research method courses and research ethics protocols need to take into account and adapt to this reversal of power relationship.