Collecting Data among Paramilitaries

This book offers the first practical guide to studying state-aligned fighters and volunteers through ethnographic research in war.

Drawing on fieldwork carried out during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, the book shows why understanding pro-government mobilization requires close, sustained engagement with the people involved rather than relying only on documents or statistics. It follows researchers from the planning stage through their time in the field, explaining how access is negotiated, how safety is managed, and how relationships are built in unpredictable and often dangerous environments. Over six chapters, the work compares three forms of field immersion—short visits to front-line areas, repeated returns over time, and long stays lasting weeks or months—and explains the benefits and limitations of each in grasping mobilization and life in war in all their diversity. It also introduces two tools to help future researchers: ‘information spread’, which focuses on collecting rich and varied material rather than large numbers of interviews and ‘reflexive engagement’, which encourages researchers to recognize how their background, emotions, and presence shape the research process. The book argues that armed conflict dynamics, operational settings, varying security levels, and the rapidly evolving conditions of the field site necessitate the adoption of innovative experimental strategies.

This book will be of much interest to students of ethnographic methods, civil wars, armed conflict, political violence and International Relations in general.