Researcher entanglements and the problem of evil

Abstract

Researchers can learn much from engaging with the complexities of evil. This article details how I felt enmeshed in a process where I was both seeing, and in some ways contributing to, aspects of evil while researching in prison. The context for this study was a high-security prison establishment recently scarred by three high-profile incidents that merged terror with violence. By introducing examples from my fieldwork, I explore various ways in which ‘researcher entanglements’ emerged. I argue that the real danger of evil is that it leads to moral righteousness and toxic cycles that are hard to break.