Interviews as catastrophic encounters: loss and loneliness in IR research

Gallagher, Julia

Abstract

The article uses psychoanalytic object relations theory to construct a way to understand why interviews in IR research – viewed here as encounters between strangers – can be felt as 'catastrophic'. The theory supports critical theoretical approaches that suggest that the world is structured through self-other relations, and argues that encounters with 'others' are unsettling because they can undermine the ways we constitute ourselves in relation to the wider world. Yet such challenges are inevitable if research is to challenge existing object constructions and the power relations that attend them. The article illustrates this argument with a detailed discussion of research interviews conducted in Zimbabwe.

Citation

Gallagher, J. (2016). Interviews as catastrophic encounters: loss and loneliness in IR research. International Studies Perspectives, 17(4), 445-461. https://doi.org/10.1111/insp.12099

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 28, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Feb 2, 2016
• Publication Date: Feb 2, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jul 21, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 16, 2018
• Journal: International Studies Perspectives
• Print ISSN: 1528-3585
• Electronic ISSN: 1528-3577
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 445-461
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/insp.12099
• Related Public URLs: https://academic.oup.com/isp/article/17/4/445/2528284