Researching authoritarian smart cities from below.

Area of Science:

• Urban Studies
• Political Science
• Sociology

Background:

• Authoritarian smart cities are typically analyzed through elite perspectives and policy documents.
• Existing research often perpetuates state-centric narratives, neglecting resident experiences.
• A gap exists in understanding the lived realities of smart city technologies in non-democratic contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for a 'rehumanising' approach to studying authoritarian smart cities.
• To move beyond distant critique towards grounded, ethical fieldwork.
• To offer practical strategies for researching smart cities from the perspective of ordinary citizens.

Main Methods:

• The study employs ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in 2022.
• It proposes a qualitative methodology focused on direct engagement with residents.
• Key strategies include "strategic questionnaire," "relational ethics," and "tactical flexibility."

Main Results:

• Traditional top-down analyses fail to capture the nuances of resident experiences with smart city technologies.
• Direct, ground-level engagement is crucial for understanding the human dimension of authoritarian smart cities.
• The proposed strategies offer a framework for ethical and effective "studying from below."

Conclusions:

• Rehumanising authoritarian smart cities requires prioritizing the lived experiences and perspectives of their inhabitants.
• Ethically attuned, adaptive fieldwork is essential for gaining genuine insights.
• The suggested methods provide a pathway for more inclusive and accurate research in challenging political contexts.