Stories from the Field by Peter Krause

Author:Peter Krause
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: POL009000, Political Science/Comparative Politics, POL040020, Political Science/World/General
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2020-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CLEAVAGES ON THE GROUND

Along with the security infrastructure in conflict zones, social cleavages become most visible when at ground level. Northern Ireland was my first conflict field site, and it was a remarkably walkable and accessible one as they go. I still remember with extraordinary detail my first walks through Belfast neighborhoods such as Sandy Row and ethnic interfaces along Donegall Pass. Later wanderings took me into various other neighborhoods all over the city. Although there was a security infrastructure of walls and cameras, it did not rival the active militarization of other conflict zones.

Instead, the challenge was knowing the political and social meaning of where I was—was this a Protestant neighborhood? Catholic? Neither, like downtown and South Belfast? Where was I going, and would I be getting myself into trouble by crossing from one neighborhood into another? In some places these were not issues, but in others they most certainly were, and I knew enough to know that I didn’t know which was which. North Belfast was the hardest to navigate, with its bricolage of small ethnically defined neighborhoods, and I spent the least amount of time there. Urban ethnic segregation brought home a core reality of modern Northern Ireland—even if peace largely prevails, political cleavages map onto everyday life in an unavoidable and stark way. I was in Belfast for parts of two “marching seasons”—when Protestant lodges hold parades that can be sectarian flashpoints and sources of deep tension, and the geography of basic life can be further disrupted. Learning how to get around was more important because I was not ethnically identifiable. In South Asia, I was obviously a foreigner, but in Northern Ireland, other than being noticeably nerdier than the average person, I was indistinguishable from local citizens. I would not be automatically classified as politically unproblematic.

Friends, colleagues, and friendly passersby were essential sources of insight into how to navigate this landscape. Fieldwork’s greatest value is immersion in a world different from one’s own, a new set of referents, jokes, daily rhythms, and dangers. The transition from fancy coffeehouses in South Belfast to the Fall Roads or East Belfast, and getting from one to the other, became a matter of easy routine after a while, but it was certainly far from obvious during my first week. The social aspect of this learning makes clear how important it is to find people with whom to talk. Before setting out for a new city, I cast about ahead of time on social media and by reaching out to friends for contacts, whether they are professionally relevant or not. As an introvert who rarely strikes up friendships in chance encounters, having some friendly faces waiting for me is a huge help.

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