For researchers specializing in international relations, traveling in person to the regions they study is sometimes impossible—and often dangerous—when those regions are embroiled in armed conflict. Beyond the physical risk involved on the ground, these trips are particularly complicated to organize from a logistical and financial standpoint; fieldwork can be abruptly interrupted at any moment; interactions with the people we meet are marked by urgency and fear; and we sometimes find ourselves exposed to scenes that are hard to bear. The challenges continue upon our return, when the time comes to document the results of this experience and share the knowledge we’ve gained with the academic community or the general public; when we try to stay in touch with the people we met during our stay; or when we consider making a return trip to build on the research we’ve already done.
To discuss these crucial yet rarely addressed topics, we’ve brought together three experts with different areas of specialization, all of whom have spent time in conflict zones—from Afghanistan to Ukraine to Nagorno-Karabakh. Questions from viewers will be posed to them throughout the webinar.
- Pierre Micheletti, physician, writer, professor at the Institute of Political Studies and the Faculty of Medicine in Grenoble, honorary president of Action Against Hunger, president of SOS Méditerranée
- Anita Khachaturova, Ph.D. from the Free University of Brussels, specialist in the South Caucasus
- Romain Huët, ethnographer at the University of Rennes 2, who has spent extensive time working in Syria and Ukraine during times of war
Moderator: Grégory Rayko, International Editor, The Conversation France
