Working in the Field (If They Let You In)
On February 9th, the Central Asia, Africa and Latin America Working Groups co-hosted a conference, “Working in the Field (If They Let You In): The Many Challenges Conflict Resolution Professionals Face Practicing or Conducting Research in the Field.” The event explored a number of challenges and in particular focused on the issue of ethics in research and practice, assessment of data reliability, and physical dangers of working in the field.
The idea for the conference emerged out of discussion among members of the Central Asia Working Group (CAWG) at a time when one member was preparing to leave for Afghanistan and another was exploring literature on corruption in preparation for a course on Conflict and Development. Although the discussion began with an off-the-cuff observation—that most people involved in international work seem to know a cynical or humorous story about corruption—it soon turned to a more serious exploration of the difficulties encountered when working in the field. CAWG members agreed that although stories of such challenges abound, many conflict resolution researchers and practitioners go to the field with little or no preparation in how to deal with the ethical challenges they are likely to confront. Those participating in this discussion noted that a number of issues seem to be especially problematic. These included how to deal with corruption in its many forms that the researcher/ practitioner is likely to encounter; how to ensure the safety of the people and community with whom you are working and how to ensure you own safety in a dangerous environment; and how to assess the credibility of the data you are collecting in conflict, post-conflict, and authoritarian settings.
The CAWG was keen on bringing a more in-depth discussion of Central Asian issues into S-CAR and was exploring possible topics for a conference topic that would explore regional dynamics. The discussion around the challenges researchers and practitioners face in the field convinced CAWG members that examining issues of ethics in practice and research as well as ofcorruption and working in difficult environments would be a fascinating lens through which to examine Central Asian political and social contexts. At the same time, CAWG members quickly concluded that the challenges they were interested in exploring were ones researchers and practitioners in other conflict, post-conflict, and authoritarian settings also faced. Organizing this conference in collaboration with the Africa and Latin America Working Groups provided an opportunity to examine the common challenges researchers and practitioners face when working in these regions. It also provided an opportunity for students, researchers to discuss ethical issues that may affect their current and future work.
The conference had three main objectives. The first was to give students from S-CAR and surrounding universities an opportunity to meet with field professionals and become better prepared for working in the future as conflict analysis and resolution professionals. The second objective was to promote and deepen discussions at S-CAR on practice and practice-related issues. Finally, the conference aimed to broaden the discussion of the importance of ethics in fieldwork. As in many other fields, conflict analysis and resolution researchers and practitioners work directly with vulnerable populations. For this reason, it is extremely important that as researchers and practitioners, we are aware of the risks we are taking when we attempt to help and the potential danger we may put people in. For some well-intentioned individuals, the idea of refraining from action in order to avoid additional harm may not be an easy decision to make, and yet that is precisely the decision many of us will face in the course of our work. Furthermore, corruption and associated issues are sometimes the reason theories do not seem to apply well and why, sometimes, the best-planned interventions go awry. A better understanding of the challenges can help practitioners to be prepared with alternative plans when things start to go wrong.
The response to the call for papers confirmed that this topic is on the minds of many researchers and practitioners, not just in conflict resolution but in other fields such as geography, anthropology, and sociology. The range of topics covered in the abstracts included the use of social media to collect data and the ethics behind it, integration of field experience issues into curriculum, working with individuals labeled as “terrorists," as well as a submission looking to question the basic principles underlying our notion of ethics in field work.
Read more and view some of the presentations: scar.gmu.edu/event/13498