CONDUCTING POLITICAL RESEARCH IN A HIGHLY SENSITIVE POST-CONFLICT ENVIRONMENT : REFLECTIONS FROM THE INTERNALLY DISPLACED CAMPS IN KENYA

This article elucidates the ethical and methodological intricacies of the semistructured interviews when the author conducted his qualitativeased fieldwor in the nternall is laced am s Ps in airo i and Ri t alle en a. Research can e re arded as the rod ction o nowled e and the research rocess is the roadma sed in order to rod ce scientific nowled e a o t the o ectivit o individ al a enc and its social realit t there is a a cit o recent st dies that reveals the com le it o cond ctin research in hi hl sensitive environments es eciall in the P cam s. This st d ho es to fill in the a in scholarshi interviewin the s rvivors o the s ostelection violence P who occ ied the P cam s and r an sl ms sin a ramewor o research ethics on the Ps. The essa loo s into the rocess o ethical and moral considerations in res onse to the iss es o olitical sensitivit when interviewin the Ps. The a er e ins with a rie introd ction to the case st d . econdl the research ethical ramewor and the act al research desi n are disc ssed. ollowin this the challen es aced the a thor re ardin research im ortant decisions made e ore d rin and a ter the fieldwor research ste s and rocesses are e amined. The anal sis concl des s estin the research ros ects and limitations o the semi str ct red interview method in the P cam s and hi hli hts the im ortance o reco nisin the ositionalit o the researcher rom st o servin to the rther ste to do ood within a settin o the ost conflict environment.


INTRODUCTION
This article is based on a study that was designed to research the impact of Transitional Justice Mechanisms (TJMs) 1 in addressing the shattered living conditions of Internally Displacement Persons (IDPs) 2 following the 200 200 postelection violence (PEV) 3 in Kenya.
In that study 4 , the author e amined the role of the legal and political institutions that were established in the wake of the 200 disputes over the presidential election, with specific attention paid to the role of the national Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings in enya between 200 and 201 both defined here as TJMs.
Accordingly, the PEV inspired a burst of academic productivity in the numerous scholarly works on African politics during the few years since the crises came to be regarded as the worst event to befall the country since independence. 5Arguably, the PEV provides an instructive opportunity for cross-disciplinary commentators to e amine the relations between the broader comparative themes of procedural democracy in African politics and the mushroomed publications of socio-legal analysis in suggesting the potential of the TJMs (as a set of conflict resolution mechanisms) in resolving a recent electoral violence, regime change, and Arab Springs in Africa, all of which hinted for a clearer understanding that the legalistic nature over the study of TJMs requires a heightened degree of political analysis. 6 such, there is an overwhelming tendency in the literature of Transitional Justice (TJ) to treat post-conflict justice e periments in the post-authoritarian environments in Latin America and Eastern Europe as similar to the current situation concerning the consolidation of third wave democracy and post-conflict peacebuilding in African countries like enya.While integrating TJMs with the broader peacebuilding concerns of addressing the IDPs seems persuasive, there is ample evidence that suggests both TJMs (the ICC and TJRC in enya) are not directly connected to the IDPs fundamental needs of justice, reconciliation, and reparation in the aftermath of the conflict.For that reason, this research is anchored in the idea that the attempt of TJMs to successfully implement some form of post-conflict justice in enya was flawed because they did not take into account how these institutional arrangements were subjected to elite brinkmanship games, and as a result, TJMs in enya failed to address the problems of the IDPs, whose politically subjectivity and agency were denied in the process of achieving realistic forms of justice and reconciliation. 9 This paper begins with a brief introduction of the case study.Secondly, the research ethical framework and the actual research design are discussed, followed by the challenges faced by the author regarding important research decisions made before, during, and after the fieldwork (research steps and processes).The analysis concluded by suggesting the research prospects and limitations of the semistructured interview method in the IDP camps, and highlights the importance of recognising the positionality of the researcher from simply observing to the ne t step to do good within a post-conflict environment.

INTRODUCING THE CASE STUDY: THE DILEMMA OF THE IDPS IN KENYA
While the enyan government has loudly demonstrated their commitment toward implementing the TJMs, various studies have challenged such commitment. 10Indeed, throughout the author observations between 200 and 201 (during the implementation of the TJMs in enya) the projects remained politically unsuccessful.What are worse, various top-and middle-profile politicians within the circles of government intentionally subverted the policies and consequently impeded the actual process of justice seeking through the ICC s proceedings in enya.They forcefully evicted the remaining camp residents into illegal slums settlements scattered throughout suburban Nairobi.
The report jointly published by researchers from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), verseas Development Institute ( DI) U , and erkeley University, California US 11 on the status of urban resettlement and city sanctuary for the city of Nairobi, stated that enyan government officials claimed that they have successfully resettled the IDPs from the 200 crisis as evidenced by the closure of several camps. 12However, various studies discovered that huge numbers of IDPs who previously occupied the camps around Nairobi and southern Rift Valley have been forcefully migrated to the slums nearby Nairobi, triggering the emergence of a huge number of illegal slums.These conditions are worsened by urbanisation and the massive construction of foreign private projects in rural cities leading to a new wave of homeless individuals from rural areas. 13 his PhD research, the author have discovered that those previous PEV s IDPs who are now resettled in slums like Mukuru, Mathare, Dandora, and orogocho have difficulty accessing justice, security, job opportunity, and medical needs, especially when they cannot legally be identified as IDPs.This means that their e isting humanitarian needs have been compromised and subjected to civilian status or as an illegal settler. 14 such, the IDPs that the author interviewed are those who either still live in camps in different parts of the Rift valley (in particular the self-help camps), or those who have been forced to migrate to illegal settlements or slums around Nairobi (illegal slum settlers).The author has captured the vulnerabilities of the IDPs though the choice of a single case study research design and semi-structured qualitative interviews.

ETHICAL RESEARCH FRAMEWORK: MORAL IMAGINATION
While a lot has been written about TJ, peacebuilding, and IDPs, few researches have focused on the IDP as an object of victim testimonials within the literature of TJ.The IDP or a theme on displacement has not as of yet figured prominently in the literature or practice of transitional justice 15 .While such hints allow the author to focus on researching the IDPs, the politically sensitive status of the IDPs and the author s status as an outsider while interacting (in the form of power relations) with them have provided a clear justification 16 for the needs of e tensive consideration on the research ethics.In this respect, ethical research dilemmas appeared to be important and arise when we try to decide between one course of action and another not in terms of e pediency or efficiency, but by reference to standards of what is morally right or wrong. 1 Accordingly, considering research ethics is not only placed on the research outcome but also on the research process and all the actors involved during the course of the fieldwork.Despite the strong emphasis on the internationally recognised and rigid code of practices, there is still room for a researcher to subjectively deliberate, and to perhaps compromise, which requires refle ivity and moral judgments. 1This brings the adoption of moral imagination: the imaginative process of moral deliberation occurs when the researcher have to take precautions beyond the rigidity of doctrinal rules and universal research ethics in favour of adjusting research practices according to unusual conte ts and the likely consequences of research therein. 19e author s research conversations with the IDPs is driven by a moral imagination 20 concerned with empowerment and power relations, including recognitions over the structural inequality that conditioned the position of the IDPs.Thus, it posits that the consequence of the fieldwork should be for the good of the respondents and the people around them.This takes the author a step further from the universal ethics of just observe , to one of ensuring no harm or doing good . 21Having such a moral imagination helps the author reflect on various possibilities of actions to deal with the vulnerabilities of the IDPs.

RESEARCH DESIGN, FIELDWORK PERIODS AND LOCATIONS
In this study, the author focused on a single case study, using specific living conditions of the IDPs Camps or Self-Help Camps 22 that were eventually closed by the enyan government in order for the government to politically demonstrate that demands for reconciliation and rehabilitation that have been made by the IDP camp residents have been fully resolved.According to Jason Walton, the selection of a single case study research design was used, to demonstrate a causal argument about how general social forces shape and produce results in particular settings . 23Therefore it was deemed relevant and applicable for the study, where social forces observed in the postconflict environment of the IDP camps have an impact on a specific IDP and illegal slum community (setting).Using a case study research design enables the researcher to use the semi-structured interview data, and to connect the micro level of analysis to the macro level.This provides insight that will enable the researcher to e pand build theory.Additionally, the case study was not selected as a design for the study with the aim of making generalisations, but rather to produce theory.Robert in confirms this by stating that one possible rationale of a single case study is that the case represents a critical opportunity in testing a well-formulated theory. 24in further e plains that testing the theory entails determining if the propositions of the theory are correct or if there are alternative e planations that are more relevant to e plain the social phenomenon. 25The discussions below provide a methodological review of the research process involved, periods, and locations in gathering primary data for the above-mentioned case study, including an overview of the fieldwork process.
In conducting the research, the adopted methodology can be divided into two main parts.The first involved a use of secondary literature, and an in-depth survey of the more widely discussed themes in the study of TJMs and the 200 crisis in enya s political economy.
There is an e panding body of literature covering models of conflict resolution adopted in resolving election disputes, and its immediate and long-term impact on the sustainability of peace and reform policies in enya, imbabwe, hana, Mali, and the Ivory Coast.In addition to drawing from e isting works of secondary literature, the author acknowledges the recent critiques made by a contemporary enyan writer, Ngugi wa Thiong o that, there s a tendency to assume that knowledge, education, jurisprudence, and especially philosophy came from the pen.This is because knowledge, the world over, reaches us through books . 26though te t has e isted for a relatively brief period in human history, there is a tendency in today s society to assume that, a person who cannot write and read is ignorant, or that the knowledge they possess is not good enough for sharing with others or benefitting the nation . 2 This was the case for the individuals who were identified as displaced victims after the PEV.Politically, they were e cluded not for being illiterate, but because their unrecorded living e perience during and after the PEV challenged some of the major assumptions of secondary literature. 2 iven the novel attempts of the enyan government and society to utilise TJMs in order to resolve the difference that emerged after 200 and the IDPs demands, the author s research constitutes the first in-depth analysis of the entire TJ process and surrounding debates in enya from the perspective of the displaced victims of PEV, especially the IDPs.
The author began his fieldwork in February 200 .The previous year, the enyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation ( NDR) agreement were signed by all enyan conflicting parties, and the ICC started its investigation following the rejection of a local tribunal bill by the enyan parliament.Additionally, the TRJC s mandate for e ecuting restorative and redistributive justice became effective.The second period of fieldwork began in January 2012.At this point in time, the ICC s Pre-Trial Chamber II confirmed the charges against four of the si PEV suspects and scheduled its first trial date for April 201 .
The second period of the author s fieldwork ended in May 2012, when the TJRC reports were still pending.The final period of fieldwork ran from February 201 , a month before the election, to April 201 , when the ICC s proceedings were still ongoing.The research draws from 1 interviews with individuals from all of the relevant categories of stakeholders in the constitutional implementation of the TJRC and the ICC s proceedings.These individuals range from officials who were indirectly and directly involved in implementing the aforementioned TJMs, to academic commentators, N personnel, and the ordinary citizens who were affected by these mechanisms.The interviews consisted of both formal and informal conversations (including multiple interviews with many of the same individuals, some of which span a period of more than four years) in order to provide a broader perspective of the initial intentions, modus operandi, and outcomes of the TJMs implemented as a result of the NDR agreement.This allows the author to construct popular narratives of justice and reconciliation in enya, conducted during his thirteen months of living and interacting with various enyans.Research took place while the author was stationed at the oung Women s Christian Association s ( WCA) hostel on Nyerere Road in Nairobi, the ritish Institute in Eastern Africa in the ileleshawa district in Nairobi, and a tea and flowers smallholding in the Central Province of enya.The interviewees came from various groups of stakeholders, such as enyan government officials, US embassy personnel, AU personnel, TJRC officers from the research division, the audience and participants in TJRC hearings from various regions, members of small business communities in Nairobi, academics from the University of Nairobi and the United States International University based in Nairobi, and various international and local N s personnel.
Finally, the author travelled to The Hague, Netherlands to interview individuals who had been witnesses to the ICC s proceedings, Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), and E traordinary Chamber at the Court of Cambodia (ECCC).These individuals were asked for their legal and political opinions on a wide range of issues influencing enyan criminal accountability and the workings of TJMs under the NDR agreement.The author also travelled to New ork, eneva, and Paris to interview former international policymakers and observers from various UN agencies and organisations related to various TJ e periments across the globe.Finally, the author travelled to the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to gauge the views of the individuals residing in this region towards the precarious enyan approach to TJ. Drawing from such e tensive fieldworks allows the author to highlight several reflections about the research design that will be discussed ne t.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE IDP CAMPS IN KENYA
In this section, the author shares the major dilemmas that arose before, during, and after the fieldwork that emerged perhaps due to working in the new environment of the IDP camps and enya (Africa), as well as being new to using the semi-structured interview method in highly sensitive political environments.Although he had travelled to the country prior conducting his e tensive fieldwork in 2012, he was new to the study site (IDP camps and slums in suburban Nairobi and Rift Valley), with prior knowledge based only on having learned about it through secondary literature and media from the area.Prior to embarking on his e tensive fieldwork, the author had also lived and completed his postgraduate research training both in England and Scotland for years and was thus e posed to different cultures and what that meant in terms of research design.
Within the literature of qualitative research methodology, a nonwestern researcher based in Canada describes this as being in a bind, where one is a third-world researcher who lives and works in the first world, yet whose field of research is a third world site . 29Nevertheless, the non-western researcher mentioned here described how she has been perceived as an outsider despite her ancestral linkages to her field site, Pakistan.thers have also written about their ethical and methodological intricacies whilst either working in the lobal South or with marginalised communities.For instance, Catherine ohler Riesman vividly mentioned how her research participants (barren women) in South India resisted signing the informed consent form, as they were suspicious, associating signing with a formal government document. 0It was within such a backdrops that the research was planned and carried out.The author thus shares his e periences under the mandate of qualitative research reflectivity and for those researchers planning to work in new conte ts.

Preparing for the Fieldwork: Before Visiting the Camps
Research in new conte ts can be daunting, and in preparation the author e plored, as far as was possible, background literature about the peoples, history, and politics of enya, as well as engaged in dialogue on the methods and ethical guidelines to be used.y 2011, during his first year PhD review, the author was wisely advised 31 by the Convener for the research students at his School of International Relations to seek substantive advice from his Principal Supervisor, Professor Ian Taylor 32 in regards to research ethics and risk assessment prior to conducting fieldwork.For that, as part of the requirements to upgrade his status from a general research student to a full-time doctoral (PhD) researcher, the author agreed with his supervisor advices to audit and to attend the additional (thought) postgraduate modules 33 offered by his School of International Relations, as well as the MPhil core modules 34 in the Social Sciences conducted by the University of St. Andrews as a pre-requirement of conducting my fieldwork in enya.n 2 th April 2011, the author received a letter 35 from the Postgraduate Committee (at the School) to inform that he has been successfully upgraded as a PhD researcher, which allowed him to conduct his fieldwork.At this initial stage, without the advice of his supervisor and the fle ibility of the University in offering these modules and social support, the author may have not equipped himself with the fundamental knowledge in research and writing.
Subsequent to completing the module of IR 601 Research in nternational Relations and SS 10 alitative ethods in ocial Research, and upon returning from his second fieldwork e cursion and after having gathered all the necessary information, the author submitted his Research Ethical Form for all the periods of fieldwork that he conducted and planned to conduct.As stipulated by the School Handbook for PhD students and the University Regulations for a research degree, any doctoral candidate intending to conduct fieldwork must submit two different application forms to the School s Research Ethics Committee, and the University Teaching and Research Ethics Committee (UTREC) for their considerations and approval before the student s final submission of his her thesis for the purpose of the oral e amination viva.n 1 th September 201 , the author received a three-year period of approval for all his fieldworks within his doctorate years (2011-201 ).The letter strictly insisted that he must follow all the guidelines in regards to conducting fieldwork with a living human being 36 , as stipulated by the UTREC s guidelines.Additionally, the author also submitted his Fieldwork Risk Assessment Form with wide consultation from my supervisor, and the Head of the School in regards to evaluating the potential hazards that may hinder his research and life.
Having satisfied all the foreseeable significant hazards associated with the fieldwork and introducing adequate controls, the author received the written consent for all his fieldwork on 2 th May 201 .In short, he consulted the relevant bodies regarding ethical framework, drafting his ethical guidelines from it, and editing it through input and critique from colleagues, and lessons learned from prior research engagements.Additionally, he received valuable advice from attending various research seminars and workshops from various relevant institutions, including the University of St. Andrews library, the University of ford s odleian Library for Social Sciences, the Royal African Society (RAS), the ritish International Studies Association ( ISA), the International Political Science Association (IPSA) all based in U and Canada, and the ritish Institute for Eastern Africa ( IEA) in enya.

Dilemma during the Fieldwork at the Camps
Despite careful preparation, the author e perienced a range of dilemmas.Paul Cloke, Phil Cooke, Jery Cursons, Paul Milbourne and Rebekah Widdowfield reported similar e periences with their research among homeless people in England and stated that this may be because the theoretical information and preparation, sometimes become less clear and noticeably more personalised when imposed in a different conte t, removed from the one for which the ethical and methodological procedures were originally designed.Furthermore, there have been lengthy polarised debates on which research ethics should prevail between those supporting a universal code of research practice (deontological) and those who believe it should be conte tual (consequential).Through the framework of moral imagination discussed earlier, the author decided to take a pragmatic approach that spurns the rigidity of doctrinal rules in favour of adjusting research practices according to different conte ts and the likely consequences of research therein.
iven that this research is driven by a personal motivation for social justice, a philosophical concern with empowerment, and facilitating agency, not only individuals, but in the whole society, the author posits that the consequence of the research should be for the good of the participants and the people around them and having moral sensitivity and good intentions with a moral imagination to protect the IDPs who respond to my questions (during the interview sessions) from any calculated political repercussions, and not passing any biased theoretical judgement that may not reflect their social realities in his writing.
For e ample, Lucy (not a real name), one of the senior female IDP s accounts of resistance toward political violence in enya was recorded through a series of si semi-structured interviews conducted as part of an e tended set of discussions held every 2 weeks between March and April 2012.In the course of these interviews, each spanning appro imately hours, she provided an oral account of her e plicit e periences during the outbreaks of the political violence.The e change was recorded and later transcribed in its original iswahili and translated into English by the author s translator, a retired professor of iswahili at a public local university in enya.At the ne t meeting, the iswahili version was read back to her, normally by a close family member, for confirmation and amendment.These changes were then added to both the iswahili and the English versions that were checked by the translator.iven the deeply personal nature of her narratives, the author arranged a copy of the full typed transcript to Lucy, so she could keep a written record of our discussions.
At the conclusion of the author s discussion, Lucy refused to accept any written copy.Leaving papers behind after his visit would start rumours at the camps, she e plained therefore, the author must leave with the papers in the same noticeable brown envelope, just as he had arrived.This is one of the few e amples on how the author practiced his ethical consciousness during the fieldwork.y respecting Lucy s confidentially and to ensure the safety of the local assistants, interviewees, and translators from any possible political repercussions created by his research, all names referred through the author s research have been given pseudonyms.This article largely agreed with Morwenna riffiths advice that methodology provides a rationale for the researcher and more than a description of techniques or tools, as it provides reason for using such techniques in relation to the kind of knowledge that is being collected or constructed. 39 relation to the fieldwork in the IDP camps, additional research was undertaken in various slums in suburban Nairobi occupied by previous members of the IDPs that were subjected to an involuntary resettlement scheme since May 200 .bservation and informal conversation with the IDPs were very helpful in understanding both the physical and social environment of the slums.ne of the distinct features of those who lived at the slums is that basic infrastructures were incomplete and dilapidated, where some wooden houses and tents are occupied with more family members that it can accommodate.This lack of privacy meant people having discussion with the author in various small groups, and some held a returned meet for further interviews at the places where the author was stationed during his fieldworks.Throughout multiple meetings with some of the slum members, the IDPs freely e pressed discussed without any hesitation or interruption in a discreet location where the author was based.Some commentators would described this as researchers taking the opportunity to use their distinct powers on behalf of disadvantaged groups .It is an e ample of going beyond the principle of doing no harm, to one of doing good. 0In other words, it was an instance of taking Patricia Werhane and rian Moriarty s advice, to disengage from one s primary framework or e tend or adapt that framework in a meaningful way . 41rough such meaningful engagements, the author has managed to organise the selection of participants, the IDPs, and slums involved in his study.Participants comprised both male and female adults over 21 years of age.The total number of interviewees was 10 individuals consisting of 0 ikuyus, 0 Luos, 0 alenjins, and 1 individuals from other ethnic minorities (with varying professions, political and religious affiliations, and social classes).In general, both IDPs and slum residents consisted of victims of PEV, and the interviews were conducted over a thirteen-month period that was split over 200 , 2012, and 201 .However, their narratives have had to be taken with a pinch of salt, especially in relation to e aggerated, self-aggrandizing, and misleading statements. 42As such, the interpretive process of recording, translating and analysing IDPs narratives was painstaking and delicate, yet an imperfect process. 43The data triangulation process aimed to tackle some issues of translating personal accounts across cultures and drawn on the recent methods adopted by Antjie rog, Nosisi Mpolweni and opano Ratele to understand transcripts of atrocity provided before the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). 44ese authors argue for the need to read and interpret written transcripts inside an understanding of the immediate social conte t from which the individual IDPs and slum residents was speaking.The strength of engaging the IDPs has aided this research in accessing their world-view as well as a given account of events.Their recorded transcripts were the primary sources in conte tualising the social reality, and a triangulation process tracing the gathered information back to its original source for verification undertook further research.Finally, the focus on the residents of the IDP camps and slums does not mean that they are deemed to represent the interests and identity of the wider critical and dissident views of the public, but simply that they provide a sound articulation of the role of the critical agent within the various segments of enyan society.This allows a heuristic focus to illuminate the IDPs sets choices over time and substantiates further the author s argument that the official language of justice and reconciliation preached by the international and national elites is not recognised or understood by the ordinary wananchi (populace).

Reflections and Lessons Learned from the Fieldwork
Like many qualitative, interview-based research, there were two major obstacles confronting the fieldwork: building trust with the respondents and framing an impartial perspective.While the country has enjoyed relative peace since February 200 , the IDPs who imparted their opinions to the author e hibited a heightened sense of vulnerability and distrust towards the state, especially when engaged in highly sensitive and political topics of conversation.This reluctance to give an opinion can be e plained by the fact that the ICC and TJRC s proceedings were still ongoing (at the time of the research), and that those questioned on these processes were subject to multiple political penalties for their opinions.
Additionally, the attempts to build the trust with the IDPs revealed the positionality and power .The asymmetrical relations between the author s position as a researcher and the IDPs constitutes certain normative barriers and presumptions among the IDPs resulting in an initial awkward interaction when those who the author interviewed were curious and suspicious, especially when many previous researchers before the author asked relatively similar questions. 45Thus, the conversations were initially statured with conflicting e pectations, including asking for financial help to buy food and other basic needs.In this situation, the author broke the ice or the awkwardness by sharing some of the hardship livelihoods that he has suffered while growing up in a poor economic background with previous e perience living in slums in southern Malaysia during his high school years.This created a shared temporal moment for the IDPs to ask more leading them eventually to freely discuss their thoughts on the author s questions.However, the most difficult challenge in engaging with the IDPs is a feeling of fear among the IDPs from being seen by other IDPs, or enyans including the local authority conversing with the author. 46This was mostly resolved through meeting at his place rather than the author having a frequent visit to the camps or slums.In this instance, power relations manifest evidently in the differences of wealth and social relations between the author and the IDPs who conversed, requiring an act of empathy by sharing some of his food or water with those who agreed to have a separate individual meeting with the author for future discussion.This is one of the e amples that were likely to have been uncomfortable and not necessarily anticipated, with the author unable to prepare for every eventuality.Through a moral imagination process, he deliberated on this issue in hindsight, deciding that on future occasions the author would either leave his water bottles in the car, or take enough water to share with the participants.He did take some groceries to the camps, such as loaves of fresh bread and other foods like fruits that were very hard to come by in these hostile camps slums.This was also a cultural gesture since it is appreciated when a visitor brings milk and bread .However, the gifts of hard to come by foods may also have aggravated the power imbalance.Such instances go beyond a formal ethical framework designed in, and for a western conte t.
In order to minimise disparities of power, the author did his best to behave in a way that was as culturally aware as possible.For instance, he dressed simply, in a similar style to that of the IDPs.The author also adopted a friendly disposition and conversed in iswahili, only speaking English if the other person appeared comfortable with it.
y acquiring basic iswahili and relying on a reputable local translator to engage with various enyans (since the author is not a enyan nor spoke iswahili prior to undertaking the research), it was possible to reduce the occurrence of cultural and conte tual misunderstandings.Though using the local language helped develop trust and to be seen as one of them , we were still seen as having superior knowledge.
athleen Lynch describes this as an ironical situation, in that, despite the author s efforts to fit in, he still presented dominance . 49Perhaps an ethnographic style of research method in the community would have helped better in overcoming power dynamics, but time and resources constraints did not allow this. 0 The second major obstacle to conducting the research is the local authorities whose presence sometime hindered its progress.Most of the time, the author was able to e plain and escape from local bureaucracies.Meanwhile, officials and those involved in collecting the testimonies of human rights violations through TJRC hearings refused to let the author see the primary sources of the collected testimonies.To overcome this challenging fieldwork environment, the author conducted additional interviews with some of the IDPs and borrowed their everyday notes 51 as data from which to construct a view of the rehabilitation and reconciliation processes.
The third major challenge is to face issues surrounding confidentiality.During the interviews, the author has learned of situations that were obviously harmful, especially the e plicit details of se ual and other types of physical violence committed at the camps slums or previous encounters of such crimes that have escaped the local authority or the police. 52After hearing this, the author was faced with an ethical dilemma because though he had promised the IDPs not to discuss their data with anyone, he have felt that their safety was at risk and eventually spoke to some researchers and N s without mentioning the IDPs names. 53Most of the N s officers had grown up in the area and were aware of the violations and crimes that occurred during the 200 crisis.The suggestion then what for the constant dialogue with communities to speak with each other and their stories will be compiled by the local N s for various civil attempts to seek criminal justice at the national court.
Last but not least is the issue of consent and permission.Prior to embarking on the fieldwork, the author was officially informed that he only needed a social visa (renewable every two months) to enter the country, and no further permit applications is required for conducting fieldworks.However, the local authority that engaged with the author at the camps slums was sometimes hesitant and questioned the author s authority to be at the camp slums.In this regard, soft and informal norms took place and followed a chain of command.To protect the safety of those involved, the author both cancelled his visits on that day and asked for more assurance from the IDPs involved leading them to travel to his location for in-depth discussions. 54As such, the author negotiated a process of informed consent with his research participants.Informed consent in this IDP community was different from what might normally be regarded as consent in western conte ts, in that it followed a chain of command.For e ample, after getting permission from the various and relevant ministerial departments in charge of the IDP and District fficer, the author met the slum camp leaders and local N s and it was through them that he came to meet the IDPs.This chain of negotiating entry varies across conte ts and shows that gaining permission is not always a one off event.This bears methodological implications to researchers wanting to work in the lobal South, although collaborating with local N s, as the author did, helps to bridge these different methodological circumstances as they are obviously more aware of local customs and protocols.

CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, all of the IDPs were very responsive and pleased that the author had chosen to work with their camps slums. 55The author appreciated this warm welcome. 56He had e periences where even if IDPs were open to a study, they asked critical questions about the author s intentions and how they will benefit from the study.Here it was different, and at times the author wondered whether their unquestioning acceptance was partly because of the power issue or perhaps a culture that obeyed authority without question.However, by continuing to engage in multiple social interactions with similar respondents over certain periods, it was possible to establish a reliable relationship with each interviewee and to provide a comfort zone in which the IDPs could speak freely about complicated issues surrounding the TJ mechanisms building trust and network with the IDPs.
et, the method adopted by this study suffers from certain limitations.It is almost impossible to generate a comprehensive story of the bottom-up perspective towards international justice and political reconciliation in enya due to the limited number of participants, geographical confusions, and the fact that the ICC s proceedings were still on-going (at the time of the research).Situating the IDPs worldviews within a comple array of legal jargon also proved difficult.In the author s interactions with respondents, the key questions surrounding justice and reconciliation proved to be too large to be comprehensively summarised by one single research project.It proved necessary for the author to engage in more unstructured and informal modes of interactions with members of the public.This provided a deeper understanding of the perspective of ordinary enyans, in particular from the camps slums in relation to the various government attempts to address collective wrongdoings through TJ mechanisms.
Utilising the IDPs narratives illuminates a rich and broad field of state-society relations and inherent social patterns.As such, the most accurate written reflection of IDPs narratives would be to include the full or partial transcript throughout the author s research.The everyday lens of the IDPs revealed the shortcomings of the legalistic language of justice that emphasise the institutional building of TJ mechanisms in post-conflict societies.et power relations and how these institutional arrangements become parts of the local elite s brinkmanship games, as well as the global template of post-conflict peacebuilding, invoke through the notion of sovereignty and national security, which defy the already decays of the international justice, especially the ICC s legitimacy at the eyes of African countries and other developing countries.While critiqued argued that TJ institutions are not fully moulded by the ruling class per se, and concerted as parts of the civil society s crusades in taming the leviathan , the author immediate replied would be calling for a wakeup call among the debaters 59 of African politics and international justice in order to distinguish between efforts to build standard settings of the legal framework (procedurals) and the integration of these legal e ercise with the interplay with local agency and how various agencies corresponds toward these legal institutions (substantives).Understanding this is key to acknowledge the blind spot in analysing African politics and international relations. 60iven such considerable delicate understandings, the semistructured interviews conducted with the IDPs in enya can be considered one of the plausible avenues to e plore the method of what the author have argued elsewhere 61 as the fourth generation of peacebuilding scholarship (also known as Critical Peacebuilding Scholarship CPS).
The CPS with its critics of peace-as-governance and their demands for a broader reconceptualisation of peacebuilding as the means to research conflict is by using the bottom-up approach.In this respect, the IDP narratives considered in this research allow the author to position his research inquiry and to recognise the marginality of the individual human agency in responding to any form of power play or peace arrangements, which has been mediated by top-down regional and international elites.
With that understanding, future research should consider e perimenting with the IDPs perspectives as a way to visualise what is termed local, instead of national or international (in level of analysis) challenging the hegemon of international narratives and its reductionist approaches in conte tualising politics and international relations.This is particularly useful in the hybrid locus standi of the state-society relations with its multiple transnational interactions (beyond the tapestry of Northern America and Western Europe) where terms like power , sovereignty , authority , citizen , and subject are highly contested and fluidly interchangeable because they do not firmly sit within the binary dichotomy of either national or international.
Thomas bel Hansen, enya s Power-Sharing Arrangement and Its Implication for Transitional Justice, The nternational o rnal o man Rights, Vol. 1 , No. 2, 201 , pp. 0 -1 . 10Stephen rown and Rosalind Raddatz, Dire Consequence or Empty Threats Western Pressure for Peace, Justice and Democracy in enya, o rnal o astern rican t dies, Vol., No. 1, 201 , pp. -62 ruce erman, Jill Cottrell and ash hai, Patrons, Clients, and Constitutions: Ethnic Politics and Political Reform in enya, anadian o rnal o rican t dies, Vol., No. , 200 , pp. 62-06 Lydia amuto osire and abrielle Lynch, enya s Search for Truth and Justice: The Role of Civil Society, nternational o rnal o Transitional stice, Vol., No. 2, 201 , pp. 2 6-2 6 Stephen rown and Chandra Lekha Sriram, The ig Fish Won t Fry Themselves: Criminal Accountability for Post-Election Violence in enya, rican airs, Vol.111, No. , 2012, pp. 2 -260 Nic Cheeseman, abrielle Lynch and Justin Willis, Democracy and Its Discontents: Understanding enya s 201 Elections, o rnal o astern rican t dies, Vol., No. 1, 201 , pp. 2-2 . 11Victoria Metcalfe, Sara Pavanello, and Prafulla Mishra, Sanctuary in the City Urban Displacement and Vulnerability in Nairobi, nternal is laced onitorin entre, 2011, http: www.internal-displacement. org publications 2011 sanctuary-in-the-city-12 Ibid. 13See Simon Robins, To Live as ther enyans Do : A Study of the Reparative Demands of enyans Victims of Human Rights Violations, in nternational entre o Transitional stice, Nairobi: International Centre of Transitional Justice, 2011, pp.-abrielle Lynch, Durable Solution , Help or Hindrance The Failings and Unintended Implications of Relief and Recovery Efforts for enya s Post-Election IDPs , Review o rican Political conom , Vol. 6, No. 1, 200 , pp. 60 -610 Edwin dhiambo Abuya and Charles Ikobe, Wasted Lives: Internally Displaced Persons Living in Camps in enya, o rnal o nternational manitarian e al t dies, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2010, pp. 2 -and Prisca Mbura amungi, The Politics of Displacement in Multiparty enya, o rnal o ontem orar rican t dies, Vol. 2 , No. , 200 , pp. -6 . 14Azman, Resolving Post-Election Violence and Developing Transitional Justice Institutions in enya, pp.-6 . 15Duthie, Incorporating Transitional Justice into the Response to Displacement, p. 12.Not all agreed with the author s conclusion.For e ample see Rachel Spronk, E ploring the Middle Classes in Nairobi: From Modes of Production to Modes of Sophistication, rican t dies Review Vol. , No. 1, pp. -11 . 59The author would like to e press his deep appreciation for the enlightened debates that he had with Associate Professor Dr. abrielle Lynch (Warwick, U ) during his Ph.D. viva voce.Dr. Lynch provided very insightful perspectives on the philosophy of intellectualism in enyan political scholarship. 60For a useful discussion on a critical appraisal on the term blind spot in researching African politics, see Ian Taylor, lind Spots in Analyzing Africa s Place in World Politics, lo al overnance Vol. 10, No. , 200 , pp. 11-1 .See also, Azman, Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding in Africa, pp.2 -.