Doing research on ‘sensitive topics’: Studying the Sweden–South Africa Arms Deal
Wayne Stephen Coetzee
1University West, Sweden
Abstract
with most aspects of so-called ‘high politics’, processes connected to conventional arms
provides insights into several substantive issues related to such research, in particular, covers matters related to research design, access to elites, the limitations associated
Keywords:
South Africa Introduction
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Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol 48, Nr 2, 2020. doi: 10.5787/48-2-1278
protocols; acts, bills and statutes; government statements and communication; reports
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6
7
Due to the particular focus of this
were conducted with current and former elites in government, parliament, the wider
The present article provides a retrospective discussion of the strategies used for the
investigation and draws into full view some of the challenges I encountered with this
Research design: Single case study of foreign policy behaviour
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and the
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10
noted, researchers
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interrelated factors:
the under-researched Swedish component of the South African Arms Deal, getting the direct accounts of decision-makers regarding ‘sensitive’ foreign
The Swedish component
The broader 1999 South African Arms Deal
12on the South African rationale for purchasing sophisticated conventional weapons
apparatus;
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the strong historical relations between Swedish political and societal elites and the post- Deal,
14partners in Africa
15arms sales are foreign policy writ large (original italics)
16Third, the Swedish component of the South African Arms Deal was thought-
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18
outside of the abovementioned historical framework or the ongoing ideological process
and the world, and provides some indication of who its friends and who its enemies
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follow the argument that support for both liberation struggle movements and armed
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conventional weapons trade with developing countries in the Global South can be
of cosmopolitan and statists objectives as it relates to the production and circulation of
Getting the direct accounts of decision-makers
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As was indicated above, most of the interviews were conducted with
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Such individuals tended to have privileged access to information, understood decision- Esther Nir
24asserts, “interviews with members of the political, economic, or social elite
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motivations of actors, we need a deep understanding of the social situation, which
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documents in Sweden have been translated to English, there are still a vast number
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observed that, when the researcher’s command of the language in which the interviews are conducted
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30
31
points out, “the
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Semi-structured elite interviews According to Seidman,
34still allowing for a situation where the interviewer can “prompt for more information”
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36
what follows, I discuss aspects concerning access to respondents and the limitations I
Access and limitations
when the subject under investigation relates to sensitive matters regarding so-called
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There is substantial literature
Being new to Sweden and possessing limited knowledge of the topic under circles to put me in contact with individuals who had knowledge of arms trade,
ideas on the topic and gain useful knowledge before moving on to semi-structured elite
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state departments, parliament and other relevant organisations in Sweden, getting As Feinstein
41notes, getting respondents to talk about sensitive and ‘secret’ defence-
42
listed above, most respondents in Sweden were willing to speak about the Gripen deal
In other instances, respondents in South Africa agreed to meet on condition that the
interview took place in public settings, such as cafés, restaurants, pubs and even casinos
Process
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provides valuable insights into how “just talking to people” can be a useful
the respondents often changed, and the tone of the interview became structured and
was made to get background information from other sources before the interview
when I listed their record of accomplishments, which indicated that I had read their
curriculum vitae, website, book, article, report or debate transcript, or I informed them
Thomas
44asserts that elites are often in favour of being recorded during interviews
times, be a good test of whether the informant is comfortable with the question and
Recording the interviews was also useful, as it tended to get respondents to speak a Seidman’s advice about “listening more and talking less”
45because getting respondents
coding and processing stage, and it allowed me to take advantage of the important
One limitation of the interview process in Sweden, however, was a slight
In South Africa, the language barrier was less problematic, even though some
The main purpose of the interview questions was to capture how ideals and interests
It was acknowledged from the outset that there can be no guarantee that one is asking
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advice on how to interview
talking about the weather, discussing the architecture of the building, enquiring about
asked probing question and then, as an afterthought, elaborate on that in more detail as
research progressed, the relative importance of questions changed, and the formulation
The impact of time on validity
that circumstantial factors might have coloured the recollections of some of the
were well aware of these criticisms and some often went to great lengths to profess
Despite these challenges and drawbacks of the interview process, it nevertheless
and the use of data triangulation was a useful tool to establish the potential gaps between helped me to assess the oft-stated economic-technical matter of fact aspects and ex post factors, the interview material provided
Research ethics and the harsh reality of investigating the arms trade
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I also need to take into consideration
sensitive nature of conventional arms trade, it was a decision that had to be made in order
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both Sweden and South Africa who wants to silence researchers and critics interested
an unknown person approached me and said:
In 2013, the ANC-led government proposed a so-called Protection of State investigations into sensitive government actions with the purpose of guarding state
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Most of the 1999 South African Arms Deal studies thus far
why
how elements of a particular arms deal contract were how
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Considering the above-mentioned and other
Conclusion
the dilemmas of research which are too often sanitised or lost in other methodological
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ENDNOTES
1
2
International Journal of Social Research Methodology
3
4 Ideals and interests in Swedish foreign policy: Explaining the South African Gripen deal
5
Scandinavian humanitarianism in the 21st century: Do-gooders and the end of aid
6
African newspaper article, legal document and journal article run on the broader Arms
public whose main purpose is to disseminate information related to the broader 1999
7
8 Case study research: Design and methods
9 Essence of decision: Explaining the Cuban missile crisis
10 The military-industrial complex: The cases of Sweden and Japan
11 op. cit.
12
13
16 The global politics of arms sales.
17
The Oxford handbook of Swedish politics
18
Niche diplomacy: Middle Powers after the Cold War.
Strategic Review for Southern Africa
19 Liberals, Marxists and nationalists: Competing interpretations of South African history
20
wartime help from the West
Cold
War History Sveriges afrikanska krig
21
The Economic History Review
22 J
23 Ibid.
24
International Journal of Social Research Methodology
25 Politics
26
International Journal of Social Research Methodology
27 I
28 Politics
29
30
Qualitative Research
31 The Electronic
Journal of Business Research Methods
32 33
International Journal of Social Research Methodology
34 Seidman op. cit.
35 J Principles of social research
36 Seidman op. cit.
37 Interviewing experts.
40 Ross op. cit.
41 The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade
42 R
43 Interview research in political science
44 Thomas op. cit.
45 Seidman op. cit.
46 R
47 Researching power, elites and leadership
48 M Researching social life
49 International
Journal of Qualitative Methods
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51 Feinstein op. cit.
52
53 op. cit.
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Journal of Social Policy
