ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects on epistemological issues in a conflict setting. In doing so it highlights the ethics involved in research in such a setting. Specifically, I draw on my own research on the protest politics of Syria’s uprising, among diaspora activists and opposition politicians in Turkey. An interpretivist orientation, incorporating narrative and critical discourse analysis, can help reconcile various perspectives and experiences difficult to neatly categorize as “inside” or “outside” Syria’s revolutionary politics. Approaching Syrian protest politics as “polycentric” and “translocal” further facilitates research in a fast-changing situation complicated by a shattered state, myriad international interveners, and a fragmented opposition. Pedagogical tips for transitioning from desk research to the field round off the chapter. Scholars attempting to maintain rigor can sharpen their analysis through a critical stance, with an eye toward normative solidarity with emancipatory political movements, and toward sensitivity to the costs of violence.
