ABSTRACT
This chapter presents how one can apply an approach surrounding 'agency', with the aim of analysing La Vía Campesina (LVC) as both an actor and an arena. It discusses how the research evolved and the challenges are faced by the author in order to conduct a multi-scale and multi-arena research design, based on 130 interviews conducted in five different languages in various countries. The chapter then focuses on a number of methodological considerations, reflections on the data collection, the research design, as well as challenges related to the researcher–scholar relationship. La Vía Campesina is constituted by diverse autonomous member organisations such as peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers, who organise events, campaigns, and exchanges around the world. The French movement scholar, Alain Touraine, states that a social movement is defined by three constituent elements: the actor, a clearly defined opponent and a social conflict.
