Challenges of Research in an Active Conflict Environment

This chapter highlights context-specific safety protocols and procedures of research in a highly violent context. It mentions the experience of Boukary Sangaré and Jaimie Bleck on conducting research in Central and Northern Mali across the lines of North–South collaboration. It discusses strategies of fieldwork in areas of armed conflict where the state of Mali has almost disappeared. The chapter recommends closed collaborations between foreign and local researchers to show that safety in high-risk contexts is dependent on up-to-date information from local networks that is continuously fed into the security assessment. It also cautions that risk assessments always have to consider the long-term effects of research as violent situations can be highly volatile, making what was safe yesterday potentially dangerous tomorrow.