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The introduction argues that while the legitimacy of bureaucracy as an object of inquiry is well established, little is generally said on the methodologies mobilized by ethnographers to study the bureaucratic field. The special issue is a contribution to fill this gap. The authors characterize bureaucracy as a mode of control by way of four dimensions—service, rule, violence, and secrecy—and propose three methodological pathways through which ethnographers may immerse in the bureaucratic field. The first pathway, “stages,” is concerned with the methodological reflections on accessing the bureaucratic stage and of being led in by bureaucrats as they perform their stage work. The second focuses on “techniques” and considers the implications of immersing oneself in a distinct technical landscape. The third pathway concerns the ethnographer’s positionality, drawing attention to the deep reflexivity and unstable ethics of bureaucracy ethnography. The authors invite bureaucracy ethnographers to pursue these pathways and to engage in a critical reflection on their fieldwork practices.

Based on a case-study of the governance of health facilities in Niger, the paper examines how emotions can be used as a method to explore meaning-making activities in bureaucratic settings where public servants’ behaviours follow practical norms that deviate from both official norms and social norms. As a supplement to other techniques associated with long-term field research, the use of obtrusive participant-observation is arguably a relevant and fruitful methodological tactic. The author argues that giving space to the ethnographer’s empathy while doing participant-observation enables a deeper understanding of bureaucratic behaviours by bringing emotions back into the analysis of empirical findings and deepening reflexivity. Whereas the paper examines some ethical issues associated with this method in contexts where the ethnographer is confronted with abuse of power in health bureaucracies, the author suggests that emotions as method can be a fruitful approach to bureaucratic ethnography at large.

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Cet article interroge la relation entre citoyenneté et propriété de soi dans une société ouest africaine dite post­esclavagiste. L’auteur examine les récentes dynamiques citoyennes et émancipatoires d’un groupe de descendants d’esclaves stigmatisé et longtemps marginalisé. À la faveur de la mise en œuvre de la décentralisation au Bénin depuis décembre 2002, les Gando ont conquis les institutions communales dans le Nord du pays, bouleversant les structures du pouvoir local, ainsi que les conceptions et pratiques de la citoyenneté. L’auteur souligne le rôle moteur des élites intellectuelles urbaines gando dans ces dynamiques de contestation et de changement social et leur rôle dans les transferts sociaux entre ville et campagne. Enfin, il montre que l’ethnicisation du groupe a été le mode privilégié d’affirmation du droit de gouverner les municipalités et que malgré le succès politique des Gando, les conceptions et les pratiques de la citoyenneté stratifiée n’ont pas totalement disparu.