When conducting research and fieldwork on civil war, it is not only challenging to remain impartial or get physically and emotionally close to conflict participants, but it is especially difficult to do both, given that more of one often requires—or leads to—less of the other. How do researchers navigate the challenges of partiality and proximity in the field? How do they deal with their values and emotions in the context of their research? In this episode, Peter takes a break from his regularly scheduled hosting duties to join us as a guest alongside Sarah Zukerman Daly, Associate Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, as they discuss their coauthored article Whose Side Are You On?
Sarah and Peter discuss how their field research on conflict in Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa motivated them to distill the complex balance of what they call "The Impartiality-Proximity Dilemma." The conversation also explores the various combinations of partiality, proximity, and neutrality that are adopted while on the ground, and what a proximate, impartial research process can look like from beginning to end. We also explore the biases that researchers may hold, consciously or not, and how they influence advocacy, scholarly integrity, and the research process.
2:17: Origins of the Article: Whose Side are you On?
6:15: Explaining the Impartiality-Proximity Dilemma
9:26: Navigating the Impartiality-Proximity Dilemma During Fieldwork
13:59: Why Civil War Research Presents Unique Challenges
25:49: How Researcher Background and Identity Shape the Impartiality-Proximity Dilemma
37:13: How the Impartiality-Proximity Dilemma Shapes Research Design and Methods
44:47: A Call for Methodological Pluralism
50:42: Advice for New Graduate Students
Publications Mentioned in This Episode
- Daly, Sarah Z., & Krause, Peter. (2024). Whose side are you on? Balancing impartiality and proximity in the study of civil wars. Conflict, Security & Development, 24(6), 621–644. https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2024.2435057
- Daly, Sarah Z., Paler, Laura, & Samii, Cyrus (2020). Wartime ties and the social logic of crime. Journal of Peace Research, 57(4), 536-550. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343319897098
Producers: Hannah Bingham, Dominic Calareso, Jasmine Han, Anna O’Donnell
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