Too often in Western media conflicts are presented through the eyes of the victims of human rights violations and political or State violence, presenting the regime on the verge of collapse. In Zimbabwe Mugabe’s party is still in power, after having committed a massacre in the South, a political crisis that has been lasting 15 years and a total economic collapse in 2007-2008. Western media have given much more attention to the weaknesses of the system than its strengths. It has been our objective in Zimbabwe to understand a violent regime, such as that of Robert Mugabe’s party, Zanu-pf, through both investigating what upholds its power and what undermines it. While Zanu-pf has been instigating violence for over 30 years, it still enjoys the support of large groups of the population who, in interviews, motivate their choice out of a concern for peace. According to interviews carried out in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare in 2010, support for the Mugabe and Zanu-pf is particularly strong in the rural areas. To get access to the opinions of people living in the rural areas has therefore been an objective of follow-up research. In 2011 a series of interviews has been carried out in both Shona and Ndebele-speaking rural areas into the question how people living in these areas interpret the political situation in their country. This research has been participatory in its design. Here I address some of the methodological challenges encountered and in what way research has contributed to conflict transformation. Read more