Ethnography in/of the Red Zone

Challenges, Frustrations, and Engagements

Bibliographic Data

ID7213231
AuthorsHagberg (corresponding author), Hagberg Hagberg (corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume21
Pages13-13
Publication date2019-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMande Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1536-5506 • E-ISSN: 2379-5506
PublisherIndiana University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2979/mande.21.1.03
OpenAlexW3003375074
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited11

This article addresses methodologies and epistemologies of contemporary ethnography by dealing with challenges, frustrations, and engagements of doing research in insecure areas, often referred to as “red zones.” First, anthropological research in the present-day Sahel faces challenges in the sense that the individual researcher must deal with personal security and safety, while complying with methodological considerations. Second, the researcher has to deal with frustrations for not being able to do conventional anthropological fieldwork, and for being “lost” when first-hand material is not accessible. Third, such an anthropological endeavor has a lot to do with engagements. Beyond doing research in red zones, it is equally important to scrutinize the politics of the red zone. By turning the politics of the red zone into an object of research, I suggest that we can critically examine the ways in which “security” is used to legitimize any kind of wrongdoings and abuses, and to politically define red zones

Epistemology · Ethnography · Object (grammar · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Global Security and Public Health · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security