Sociologies (Oct 2019)
Comparaison n’est pas raison sans épistémologie
Abstract
The deportation of foreigners has only recently been studied in detail by an increasing number of and it has however rarely been the subject of research mobilizing international comparison. On the basis of a comparative study on the deportation of foreigners in France, Switzerland and Turkey, this article questions the place of epistemology in the design and the implementation of comparative research and shows that comparison is not only a methodological approach or tool. In addition, it explains that continued epistemological vigilance allows to overcome difficulties of setting up comparative research, carrying it out and reporting its data. This vigilance can be defined as the constant effort stemming from a critical meta-gaze on the researcher himself, on the choices he makes, on the data he collects as well as on the contexts or conditions imposed on him. While showing the importance of epistemology in the comparison, the article explains issues related to epistemological vigilance and its usefulness.
