Peculiarities of Interviewing Elites in Post-Conflict Societies

Year 2023, Volume: 16 Issue: 2, 433 - 444, 31.12.2023

Cemaliye Beysoylu

https://doi.org/10.37093/ijsi.1322658

https://izlik.org/JA29PC25CE

Abstract

Those who engage in a task of conducting elite interviews in post-conflict societies must prepare for the context-specific challenges of this environment to mitigate the potentially distorting consequences of the process and the substance. This paper discusses the issues and challenges associated with interviewing elites in post-conflict societies. Examples are drawn from the author’s own experiences gained through conducting over seventy interviews while collecting data on peace processes in Cyprus and Kosovo. Particularly, the issues of sampling, gaining access, and the process of interviewing are discussed with a focus on the issues of the impact of terminology, the use of recording devices, the researcher’s positionality, and the subjective qualities of data.

Keywords

Elite interviews , post-conflict societies , sampling , gaining access , researcher’s positionality

Ethical Statement

The author declares that this article complies with ethical standards and rules.

Supporting Institution

No financial support was received from any person or institution for the study.

References

• Aberbach, J. D., & Rockman, B. A. (2002). Conducting and coding elite interviews. PS: Political Science & Politics, 35(4), 673-676. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096502001142
• Ball, S. (1994). Political interviews and the politics of interviewing. In G. Walford (Eds), Researching the powerful in education (pp. 96-115). UCL Press.
• Becker, H. S. (1967). Whose side are we on? Social Problems, 14(3), 239-247. https://doi.org/10.2307/799147
• Berry, J. M. (2002). Validity and reliability issues in elite interviewing. PS: Political Science & Politics, 35(4), 679-682. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096502001166
• Bogner, A., Littig, B., & Menz, W. (Eds.). (2009). Interviewing Experts. Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230244276
• Brass, P. R. (1991). Ethnicity and nationalism: Theory and comparison. Sage Publications.
• Brewer, J. D. (2016). The ethics of ethical debates in peace and conflict research: Notes towards the development of a research covenant. Methodological Innovations, 9, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2059799116630657
• Brounéus, K. (2011). In-depth interviewing: The process, skill and ethics of interviews in peace research. In K. Hoglund & M. Ober (Eds.), Understanding peace research (pp. 130–145). Routledge.
• Cameron, D., Frazer, E., Harvey, P., Rampton, B., & Richardson, K. (Eds.). (1992). Introduction. In Researching language: Issues of power and method. (pp. 1–28). Routledge.
• Cochrane, A. (1998). Illusions of power: Interviewing local elites. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 30(12), 2121-2132. https://doi.org/10.1068/a302121
• Cohen, N., & Arieli, T. (2011). Field research in conflict environments: Methodological challenges and snowball sampling. Journal of Peace Research, 48(4), 423–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343311405698
• Crawford, B., & Lipschutz, R. D. (1998). The myth of “ethnic conflict”: Politics, economics, and “cultural” violence (Digital Collection, Vol. 98). International and Area Studies, University of California at Berkeley.
• Dexter, L. A. (1970). Elite and specialized interviewing. Northwestern University Press.
• Dexter, L. A. (2006). Elite and specialized interviewing. European Consortium for Political Research Press.
• Fujii, L. A. (2010). Shades of truth and lies: Interpreting testimonies of war and violence. Journal of Peace Research, 47(2), 231–241. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343309353097
• Galtung, J. (1985). Twenty-five years of peace research: Ten challenges and some responses. Journal of Peace Research, 22(2), 141-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/002234338502200205
• Harvey. W. S. (2009). Methodological approaches for junior researchers interviewing elites: A multidisciplinary perspective (Working Paper Series No. 01.09). Economic Geography Research Group. https://egrg.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/egrg_wp0109-Harvey-1.pdf
• Hermann, T. (2001). The impermeable identity wall: The study of violent conflicts by the “insider” and “outsider”. In M. Smyth & G. Robinson (Eds.), Researching violently divided societies: Ethnical and methodological issues (pp. 77-91). Pluto Press.
• Herod, A. (1999). Reflections on interviewing foreign elites: Praxis, positionality, validity, and the cult of the insider. Geoforum, 30(4), 313-327. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7185(99)00024-X
• Höglund, K. (2011). Comparative field research in war-torn societies. In K. Höglund & M. Öberg (Eds.), Understanding peace research: Methods and challenges (pp. 114-129). Routledge.
• Høivik, T. (1983). Peace research and science. A discussion paper. Journal of Peace Research, 20(3), 261-270. https://doi.org/10.1177/002234338302000307
• Lacher, H., & Kaymak, E. (2005). Transforming identities: Beyond the politics of non-settlement in North Cyprus. Mediterranean Politics, 10(2), 147-166. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629390500124341
• Lancaster, K. (2017). Confidentiality, anonymity and power relations in elite interviewing: Conducting qualitative policy research in a politicised domain. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(1), 93-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2015.1123555
• Lilleker, D. G. (2003). Interviewing the political elite: Navigating a potential minefield. Politics, 23(3), 207-214. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.00198
• McEvoy, J. (2006). Elite interviewing in a divided society: Lessons from Northern Ireland. Politics, 26(3), 184-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.2006.00267.x
• Merriam, S. B., Johnson-Bailey, J., Lee, M.-Y., Kee, Y., Ntseane, G., & Muhamad, M. (2001). Power and positionality: Negotiating insider/outsider status within and across cultures. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 20(5), 405–416. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370120490
• Mikecz, R. (2012). Interviewing elites: Addressing methodological issues. Qualitative Inquiry, 18(6), 482-493. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800412442818
• Morris, Z. S. (2009). The Truth about interviewing elites. Politics, 29(3), 209-217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.2009.01357.x
• Ostrander, S. A. (1995) “Surely you’re not in this just to be helpful”: Access, rapport and interviews in three studies of elites. In R. Hertz & J. Imber (Eds.), Studying elites using qualitative methods (pp 133–150). Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483327341
• Peabody, R. L., Hammond, S. W., Torcom, J., Brown, L. P., Thompson, C., & Kolodny, R. (1990). Interviewing political elites. PS: Political Science & Politics, 23(3), 451–455. https://doi.org/10.2307/419807
• Richards, D. (1996). Elite interviewing: Approaches and pitfalls. Politics, 16(3), 199–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.1996.tb00039.x
• Richardson, P. B. (2014). Engaging the Russian elite: Approaches, methods and ethics. Politics, 34(2), 180–190. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9256.12036
• Rivera, S. W., Kozyreva, P. M., & Sarovskii, E. G. (2002). Interviewing political elites: Lessons from Russia. PS: Political Science & Politics, 35(4), 683–688. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096502001178
• Rubin, H, J., & Rubin, I. S. (2005). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
• Sabot, E. C. (1999). Dr Jekyl, Mr H(i)de: The contrasting face of elites at interview. Geoforum, 30(4), 329–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7185(99)00023-8
• Schoenberger, E. (1991). The Corporate interview as a research method in economic geography. The Professional Geographer, 43(2), 180–189. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-0124.1991.00180.x
• Van Audenhove, L., & Donders, K. (2019). Talking to people III: Expert interviews and elite interviews. In H. Van den Bulck, M. Puppis, K. Donders, & L. Van Audenhove (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of methods for media policy research (pp. 179–197). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16065-4_10
• Welch, C., Marschan-Piekkari, R., Penttinen, H., & Tahvanainen, M. (2002). Corporate elites as informants in qualitative international business research. International Business Review, 11(5), 611-628. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0969-5931(02)00039-2
• Wood, E. J. (2006). The ethical challenges of field research in conflict zones. Qualitative Sociology, 29(3), 373-386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-006-9027-8