Pluralizing the Ethnography of Authoritarian (Trans-)Formations

Collaborative Explorations along the Empirical-Theoretical Nexus. A Replica

Abstract

This article responds to the two comments by Moritz Ege and Kristóf Szombati on my original text Erosion and Refiguration: Exploring Authoritarian Transformations ethnographically. It takes up central suggestions, critical remarks, and conceptual extensions—especially with regard to the question of ethnographic positioning in controversial fields, the role of resurgent sovereignty, and hegemonic and governmental forms of power in contemporary authoritarianism, as well as the connection between the research paradigm of soft authoritarianism and economic conditions, interests, and ideologies. Finally, I would like to recall an understanding of ethnography as a triad of field research, mode of representation, and the nexus between the empirical and the theoretical (Michi Knecht), which must also be the yardstick for the "density" of ethnographic transformation research that inquires into "emergent political forms." The text is intended as a contribution to "disciplinary self-assurance"—in the sense of asking what experiences and expertise European ethnology/empirical cultural studies can contribute to interdisciplinary efforts to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary authoritarianism.