Learning danger: Cultural difference and the limits of trust in dangerous fieldworks

Abstract

Reflecting on personal experiences from conducting fieldwork in Iraqi and Turkish Kurdistan between 2015 and 2017, the article supplements existing literature on how to navigate dangerous fieldwork by considering the limits of trust with regards to estimating safety, and the necessity of learning local definitions of danger. Trust, the article shows, may provide a false sense of security, particularly when working with revolutionary organizations, due to the socio-cultural differences in attitudes toward what qualifies as danger. Similarly, the article argues that dangers connected with uncertainty may also be better understood through analyzing people’s cultural responses. To better grasp these emic attitudes, the article advocates for taking “steps of faith,” supplemented by an ongoing reflexive process, aimed at assimilating local practices. To conclude, the article argues that an attentiveness to the skills needed to navigate a dangerous terrain, may assist in moving the field away from a scientistic “securitization of research.”