Nick Hildyard on research – good or bad?

Manchester Climate Monthly has just published this video of an extended interview with Nick Hildyard of the Corner House, talking about research – its ethics, its dangers and benefits, and some of the nitty-gritty of how it works. Hildyard is mainly talking about the kind of research he does – looking at companies and international finance, and how they relate to environmental and human rights abuses around the world. But in the first half of the video, especially, he makes some interesting and useful remarks for anyone undertaking any kind of research in which power differentials – between north and south, men and women, classes – are inherent. It’s easy to see research as neutral but, as Hildyard suggests, the way we frame the terms of our investigations can trap and inhibit as well as inform:

Hildyard will be helping to deliver a workshop in Manchester on March 15th on activist research… more info here.