Key Information
When
16th July 2026
1pm - 2:30pm
Where
The Cairns Institute, Building D3 Room 054, JCU Cairns
Cost
Free
Audience
Public and Community
Contact
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Interactive workshop on researching in politically sensitive, high-risk settings, covering ethics, safety, risk and fieldwork challenges.
This interactive workshop explores the ethical, practical and institutional challenges of conducting research in politically sensitive and high-risk environments. Bringing together experienced researchers working on authoritarian states and contested settings, the session will examine key issues such as researcher safety, risk assessment, fieldwork design, institutional responsibility and participant protection. Drawing on case studies from contexts including Iran and China, participants will discuss strategies for navigating uncertainty, managing risk and maintaining ethical integrity while producing impactful research.
The workshop features Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert, an Australian political scientist and author who was wrongfully detained in Iran for over two years. Now based at Macquarie University, she researches hostage diplomacy and wrongful detention policy. This event is particularly relevant for HDR students, early-career researchers, supervisors and research leaders involved in international or sensitive research contexts.
About the presenter
Kylie Moore-Gilbert is an Australian political scientist specialising in the Middle East. In 2018 she was wrongfully detained during a visit to Iran, where she had been invited to attend an academic conference. Kylie ultimately served more than two years of a ten-year prison sentence, before being freed in a prisoner swap deal negotiated by the Australian government.