The impact of authoritarian regimes on research: insights From research, researchers, and participants

Many global contexts have been experiencing a rise in authoritarianism over the past decade. Conducting research on sensitive topics is challenging in general, but doing research in especially authoritarian political contexts is even more difficult. In this article, we take Turkey as a case where the political environment has made conducting social psychological research on sensitive topics such as the Turkish–Kurdish conflict difficult. We utilize personal and academic accounts to reflect on and discuss the impact of authoritarianism in Turkey on three key areas: the impact on (a) research as a whole, (b) the researchers themselves, and (c) the research participants who choose to take part in their work. We provide contextual and academic evidence of these three levels of impact and discuss what socioecological constraints exist that create challenges for researchers in the region.