What are the ethical obligations for political scientists studying the Middle East? Have the upheavals since December 2010 created new ethical complications, imperatives, or demands? How should scholars weigh their responsibilities to give voice to people from the region against the demands of social science? Should ethical considerations shape scholarly research agendas and the presentation of research findings?

These perennial questions for the social sciences have taken on new urgency in recent years. The fifth annual POMEPS conference at the George Washington University (May 23-24, 2014) therefore convened a panel on “Ethics and Research on the Middle East” to open up a debate. This online symposium presents short essays based on the presentations and interventions from that panel and other interested scholars. These essays are available individually here and as a free PDF collection in the POMEPS Studies series.

“Ethics and Research on the Middle East,” Wendy Pearlman, Northwestern University

“Of Power Relations and Responsibilities,” Laurie A. Brand, University of Southern California

“On Local Frameworks and the Ethics of Accuracy,” Scott Weiner, George Washington University

“No Bureaucratic Pain, No Ethical Gain” Nathan J. Brown, George Washington University

“Thoughts on the Ethics of Interventions When Studying Religion and Politics in the Middle East” Richard A. Nielsen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“Why Race Matters” Sean L. Yom, Temple University

“On Ethics and Implications” Jason Brownlee, University of Texas at Austin

“Toward Transparency in the Ethics of Knowledge Production” Jillian Schwedler, Hunter College and the Graduate Center – CUNY

“Practical Ethics: How U.S. Law and the ‘War on Terror’ Affect Research in the Middle East” Sarah Elizabeth Parkinson, University of Minnesota

“On The Moral Hazards of Field Research in Middle East Politics” Sheila Carapico, University of Richmond
Marc Lynch