“Partially Trusting” Field Relationships Opportunities and Constraints of Fieldwork in Rwanda’s Postconflict Setting

This article formulates field relationships in terms of a “partial trust” dynamic. This is particularly relevant for conflict and postconflict settings in which respondents are secretive because they are embedded in uncertain and highly threatening social and political contexts. Reciprocal, delicate yet stable, partially trusting relationships open up opportunities for accessing hidden worlds of thought and behaviors. Based on field research on the grassroots genocide tribunals ( gacaca courts) in Rwanda, this article posits three specific types of opportunities for insider access: the incremental, accidental, and the contrived. While the partial trust dynamic also constrains the extent to which the researcher can probe these openings, fieldwork under these conditions can nevertheless produce a rich and diverse array of insights.