Uncomfortable Positionalities: Research, Activism, and Social Work in Italy’s Asylum System

Abstract This paper examines the ethically complex position of scholar-practitioners embedded in the refugee reception system. Moving beyond mere acknowledgement of tensions, it examines the lived experiences of two researchers who simultaneously occupy the roles of social worker, activist, and researcher. Drawing on ethnographic material and critical literature in migration studies, the study foregrounds a central question: how can researcher-activists ethically navigate the contradictions of conducting rigorous inquiries within contexts that reproduce vulnerability, inequality, or harm? Through close analysis of moments where social work, advocacy, and research collide, the paper maps recurring ethical dilemmas - co-optation into service delivery, erosion of neutrality, emotionally fraught grey zones, and the risk of perpetuating harm. Rather than prescribing solutions, it advances a praxis-oriented reflexivity emphasizing methodological transparency, continual ethical deliberation, and institutional support for practitioner-researchers, aiming to contribute empirically and theoretically to debates on research ethics, social work, and the politics of asylum.