ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the nexus of research and security in conflict zones, or what have been called ‘warscapes’.1 Peoples and places experiencing violence and mass atrocity are notoriously difficult to study. In addition to the dangers to researchers attempting to collect data, interviews obtained in conflict zones are precarious and problematic. Perpetrators are often recalcitrant to discuss events that might be self-incriminating, and the victims of violence may be placed in further danger if they attempt to denounce the crime. In particular, for the victims of violence, reporting local events to outsiders might be so dangerous that many choose to remain silent, or give false information, rather than risk further trauma. Although clearly a complicated project, it is imperative to conduct research
on violence. Social science research would be of rather poor quality without quantitative and qualitative data directly related to the human beings who produce, resist, and survive in (and despite) conflict zones. Often this research must be conducted in the sites where the violence has occurred and where there is the danger of further damage, especially to those who remain in the conflict zone after the researcher has returned to his/her home country and institution.2
