Abstract
How do researchers contact and interview participants in conflict-affected and insecure settings? What are the challenges, opportunities and lessons that come with this kind of research? This chapter draws on my experience of interviewing perpetrators of violence in Sierra Leone’s civil war to emphasise the importance of stepping outside of research ‘bubbles’; the need to challenge preconceptions about ‘no-go zones’ and ‘bad’ individuals; the essential role played by ‘local’ research assistants and project participants in making meaningful contact and importantly, the mistakes and accidents that often enrich rather than undermine our fieldwork learning.
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Notes
- 1.
The names in this chapter have been changed to preserve anonymity.
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Mitton, K. (2021). Making Contact: Interviewing Rebels in Sierra Leone. In: Mac Ginty, R., Brett, R., Vogel, B. (eds) The Companion to Peace and Conflict Fieldwork. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46433-2_12
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