Description
This paper explores the roles researchers can play in offering support to civil society organisations working with families and communities affected by challenging circumstances. These can include seeing their loved ones joining foreign conflicts and, as a result, losing their lives, being convicted of terrorist offences, or finding themselves stranded abroad. This reflection focuses on a 2017-2020 postdoctoral research project that studied the interplay between the narratives of intervention and statebuilding produced by the West and the Islamic State (IS), as well as the firsthand experiences and life stories of former Western foreign fighters and their families. After authorities denied the planned interviewing of returned foreign fighters, conversations with their families led to an enriching collaboration and several non-academic outputs used by civil society organisations, such as family and individual intervention protocols to support families of convicted terrorists, and mentoring protocols for young people going through challenging periods. The chapter delves into the intricacies of this process and sheds light on the need to critically consider safety implications of publications in collaborative work outside of academia.
