Ethics, empathy, and fear in research on violent conflict

Bibliographic Data

ID4843263
AuthorsAnastasia Shesterinina (0000-0002-3779-4903, University of Sheffield, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume56
Issue2
Pages190-202
Publication date2019-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022343318783246
OpenAlexW2888782203
LanguageEN
Citations received56
References cited33

The discussion of ethics in the social sciences focuses on 'doing no harm' and 'giving back' to research participants, but does not explore the challenges of empathy and fear in research with participants in political violence and war. Drawing on 180 in-depth interviews on the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992-93 collected over eight months between 2010 and 2013 primarily in Abkhazia, but also Georgia and Russia, I argue that researchers can come to empathize with some but fear other participants in past and present violence. These emotional responses can influence researchers' ability to probe and interpret interviews and respondents' ability to surpass strong positions to explore dilemmas of participation in violence. By empathizing with not only 'victims' and 'non-fighters' as I had expected based on my pre-existing moral-conceptual categories, but also participants in the war, I found that individuals adopted multiple overlapping roles and shifted between these roles in the changing conditions of violence. In contrast, failing to empathize with and fearing those who continued to participate in violence after the war of 1992-93 limited my ability to fully appreciate the complexity of their participation, but shed light on the context of violence in contemporary Abkhazia. This analysis shows that reflection on the role of empathy and fear in shaping our interactions with research participants can help advance our understanding of participation in violence and this difficult research context

Context (archaeology) · Criminology · Empathy · Harm · Poison control · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Health and Conflict Studies · Medicine · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology

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