our research philosophy

Our work is grounded in long-term engagement with communities, educators, local organisations, researchers, churches and social networks across Chin State and neighbouring regions. Most members of our network maintain direct linguistic, personal, cultural, and historical ties with the communities involved in our research activities.

This approach also helps us to understand how the current conflict reshapes everyday life, including education, migration, livelihoods, gender relations, mental health, family structures, and systems of care and governance. 

It also allows more nuanced forms of analysis than approaches relying mainly on short-term field access or externally designed frameworks.

We recognise local knowledge is not static and also not homogeneous. Chin State and all the surrounding borderlands are socially, politically, historically, and linguistically diverse. Our work therefore tries to engage with complexity rather than reducing communities into simplified narratives of vulnerability or crisis.

Ethics beyond required procedural compliance

Research ethics in conflict settings cannot and should not be reduced only to formal approval procedures. Ethical research requires continuous reflection regarding power, risk, reciprocity, representation, and the possible consequences that knowledge production can create.

Our work places strong emphasis on:

• Do No Harm principles

• trauma-sensitive and conflict-sensitive approaches

• informed and ongoing consent

• confidentiality and participant safety

• careful management of political and security risks

• respect toward local social and cultural dynamics

• fair recognition of local researchers and collaborators

In current situations of armed conflict and displacement, we know well that even small-scale research activities can create burdens or risks for participants and field researchers. Because of this, we adapt methods carefully according to changing realities and prioritise the dignity and safety of all persons involved.

Decolonial and locally led knowledge production for Chin State and by people of Chin State

A large amount of research about Chin State still reflects unequal global systems where funding, publication, institutional legitimacy, and authorship remain concentrated outside the communities being studied.

We try to contribute, even in modest way, toward more equitable forms of knowledge production by strengthening locally led research capacity, especially women, supporting emerging scholars, and creating spaces where local analysis can influence international discussions.

This includes:

• mentoring early-career researchers

• supporting women researchers and scholars from conflict-affected communities

• developing long-term research capacity instead of short project-based extraction

• promoting collaborative and context-sensitive methodologies

• valuing multilingual and cross-border forms of knowledge

• supporting research agendas shaped by local priorities and questions

We are especially interested in approaches connecting academic research, community knowledge, historical memory, and practical humanitarian and policy engagement together.

Research during conflict and uncertainty

Research in active conflict settings requires flexibility, humility, and methodological adaptation. Conditions may change quickly, while access can become limited or interrupted.

Our work combines qualitative, quantitative, participatory, and historical methods adapted to insecure and resource-constrained environments. These may include:

• surveys

• focus group discussions

• key informant interviews

• desk review and policy analysis

• participatory and community-based approaches

• remote and phone-based methodologies

• longitudinal qualitative research

• archival and historical research

We recognise the limits regarding what research is able to capture during periods of violence and displacement. Data is always partial and shaped by conditions of access, insecurity, and survival. Because of this, we approach evidence generation carefully and transparently, while also recognising urgent need for reliable and contextually grounded analysis.

Building long-term knowledge infrastructures

Alongside individual studies and projects, we understand institution building also as part of research process itself.

Sustainable and locally rooted research institutions remain seriously under-supported across many conflict-affected regions. Without them, communities often remain dependent on external actors in order to document, interpret, and represent their own realities.

Through THM and our CSARN initiative, we aim to contribute toward gradual strengthening of independent research infrastructure connected to Chin State and its borderlands. 

This includes research networks, mentorship systems, collaborative platforms, archives, training opportunities, and partnerships supporting long-term continuity and local ownership over knowledge production.

We see this as collective and ongoing process.