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It argues that academic \u2018expertise\u2019 is an under-theorised but significant aspect of complex conflict dynamics as they play out on social media. The affordances of digital platforms can compel researchers to engage in new ways with conflicts, further blurring long-contested boundaries between scholarship and activism. In the article\u2019s reflexive case study, debates about \u2018expertise\u2019 have a racialised aspect linked to historical inequalities in knowledge production in\/on the Horn of Africa. These legacies intersect with newer dynamics of social media mis\/disinformation, adding another layer of contextual complexity to online and offline participation in armed conflict that can both challenge and reinforce power imbalances in the politics of expertise.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/14614448251357269","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,11]],"date-time":"2026-04-11T06:51:36Z","timestamp":1775890296000},"page":"1619-1637","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["(De)constructing research \u2018expertise\u2019 in transnational participatory warfare"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"28","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9871-1377","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter","family":"Chonka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"King\u2019s College London, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_5_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1525822X211051574"},{"key":"e_1_3_5_3_1","first-page":"239","volume-title":"The Routledge Handbook of Soft Power","author":"Adeiza MO","year":"2016","unstructured":"Adeiza MO, Howard PN (2016) Social media and soft power politics in Africa: lessons from Nigeria\u2019s# BringBackOurGirls and Kenya\u2019s# SomeoneTellCNN. 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