New publication on the question "How do we research conflicts"
Peace Academy Associates Nina Engwicht and Anne Hennings write about the challenges of ethical field research in the context of resource conflicts.
Summary
Field research in conflict contexts comes with particular challenges, such as the sensitive nature of collected data, security risks for local communities, activists and researchers or the risk of reinforcing existing social polarizations and thus making the transformation of conflicts more difficult. Based on our research on resource conflicts, we want to use this article to initiate a broader debate on the ethical challenges of field research on conflicts in the Global South in German-speaking countries. How can field research in this field be conducted ethically and sustainably? How do we deal with the privileges as white, European researchers and the expectations placed on us? How can the principles of do no harm and do good be implemented in practice? We first review the English-language debate, then critically discuss our own experiences in Cambodia, Senegal and Sierra Leone along the research process (access to the field, data collection, use of the data) and finally make concrete suggestions on how the training of young researchers can be improved with regard to preparation for field research in Germany.
New publication on the question "How do we research conflicts"
Peace Academy Associates Nina Engwicht and Anne Hennings write about the challenges of ethical field research in the context of resource conflicts.
Summary
Field research in conflict contexts comes with particular challenges, such as the sensitive nature of collected data, security risks for local communities, activists and researchers or the risk of reinforcing existing social polarizations and thus making the transformation of conflicts more difficult. Based on our research on resource conflicts, we want to use this article to initiate a broader debate on the ethical challenges of field research on conflicts in the Global South in German-speaking countries. How can field research in this field be conducted ethically and sustainably? How do we deal with the privileges as white, European researchers and the expectations placed on us? How can the principles of do no harm and do good be implemented in practice? We first review the English-language debate, then critically discuss our own experiences in Cambodia, Senegal and Sierra Leone along the research process (access to the field, data collection, use of the data) and finally make concrete suggestions on how the training of young researchers can be improved with regard to preparation for field research in Germany.