321 23. ‘Repertoires of contention’: examining concept, method, context and practice Arnab Roy Chowdhury INTRODUCTION Research on social movements demands involvement in a field abuzz with contentious activ- ity; sometimes against the powerful, such as politicians, the police, the government and cor- porations. How do we conduct fieldwork in a politically charged and conflicted, if not violent (towards each other), environment such as social movements, mobilisations or protests? This chapter is a sort of mini-manual and provides pragmatic suggestions. It explains what it means, in methodological and practical terms, to understand and research a particular dimension of contentious politics, which is known as ‘repertoires of contention’ or ‘repertoires of collective action’ (Tilly 1986, p. 2), which represent the ‘whole set of means [a group] has for making claims of different types on different individuals’. It also discusses the ethical dimensions of studying modalities (or procedure) strategies, and tactics that are relevant for the concept. To do research is to use concepts, approaches, methods and methodologies. First, I briefly discuss the concept of ‘repertoires of contention’. Later, I demonstrate how we conduct field- work, ethnographic observations, secondary literatures reviews and operationalise concepts, take notes and gather data to comprehend this concept. I use as an example my research into the Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save Narmada Movement), a movement against large hydropower projects in India that emerged in the 1980s (Gadgil and Guha 1994, 2000) and still continues on a diminished scale, and that has inspired movements worldwide. The Andolan has brought about worldwide changes in policy and law, and ideational and normative transformations in water governance and in resettlement and rehabilitation (that is, policy and action helping to situate and establish communities in their new homes post-relocation) (Dwivedi 2006). It would be interesting to study the concept of repertoires of contention, which is an inter- esting area of research because it opens a window into – and lets us observe, analyse and understand – the many legacies, characteristics, aspects and layers of a social movement. This chapter, however, concerns itself with the methods and methodological aspects of research- ing repertoires of contention. I provide examples from my fieldwork and research into the Narmada Bachao Andolan because it has used a wide range of repertoires of various kinds and meanings, both old repertoires with a rich legacy, and innovative ones that are real-time and online. And these repertoires range in visibility from the mundane to the spectacular. I have tried to analyse the dimensions of the repertoires in terms of methodologies and operational terms. I have also stated how I collected data from primary and secondary sources using a variety of qualitative methodological techniques and how I adopted and adapted these. I have touched upon the kinds of questions of ethics and pragmatic decision-making that may arise in the field due to the kinds of problems we might face in a particular context, such as issues of safety and security of the participants and ourselves in contentious and potentially dangerous environments. Arnab Roy Chowdhury - 9781803922027 Downloaded from https://www.elgaronline.com/ at 04/23/2024 12:59:06PM by achowdhury@hse.ru via Arnab Roy Chowdhury