Studying Bureaucrats: Challenges and Difficulties.
Claire Malavaux, University of Western Australia
Over thirty years ago, Nader called researchers to ‘study up’ and focus on the elites and the power-holders as a ‘remedy’ to the classical anthropological focus on ‘studying down’. However, this type of study remains underdeveloped. This paper, based on my master’s thesis on Australia’s refugee policy, represents an effort to help remedy this situation. My research into the mandatory detention of ‘unauthorised’ asylum seekers, led me to consider the role of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in the implementation of this policy. The research was challenging to conduct, as it proved nearly impossible to access the site of study: the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Despite my best endeavours and enthusiasm to study this bureaucratic organization, I was unable to successfully approach DIAC employees and was repeatedly stopped by the closed doors of this ‘public’ service. In this paper, I reflect on the complications I encountered during my fieldwork especially in terms of access and getting ethic approval. As some argue, approaching policy elites can be difficult and problematic. As I contemplate the methodological implications of research on elites, I will discuss and explain why I believe that potential methodological, ethical and epistemological obstacles to ‘studying up’ should not prevent social researchers from undertaking such research. Studying the rich and powerful is necessary if we are to understand the human condition, and more specifically the power dynamics that shape the society we live in.
