Academic Freedom Under Pressure: Threats and Harassment of Political Scientists

Abstract

Moderator: Sarah de Lange - University of Amsterdam Speakers: Ilyas Saliba - Independent Researcher Iris B. Segers - University of Oslo Peter Maassen - University of Oslo Rebekah Tromble - Northeastern University In a broader context of democratic backsliding, neoliberal policymaking, and the progressively digital nature of our societies, academic freedom is increasingly under threat, not only in authoritarian states and in illiberal democracies, but also in liberal democracies. Political scientists are among the groups of scholars who are especially vulnerable to political interference and censorship from institutional actors, as they often research and critique political systems, governance, and policy. In addition to such top-down institutional pressures, academic freedom is increasingly affected by the growing prevalence of (online) harassment and intimidation of researchers, by state and non-state actors alike. The limited, but expanding, literature on this issue shows that risk is not equally distributed across colleagues. Notably, women scholars, queer scholars, and scholars with racialized or minoritized identities are disproportionally targeted by threats and harassment. Moreover, academics conducting research on topics such as race, immigration, and gender are regularly at the centre of (negative) attention. Scholars who critically engage with such topics in ways that are considered ‘politically biased’, ‘ideological’ or even ‘dangerous’ in the eyes of illiberal actors are especially at higher risk of becoming the targets of threats and intimidation. As universities face increasing financial constraints, they may choose to prioritize commercially viable or ‘politically neutral’ research, which can further marginalize such critical political research. In this roundtable, we address the various pressures on the academic freedom of political scientists in today’s neoliberal universities, focusing specifically on the impact of threats, harassment, and intimidation by a growing range of institutional and non-institutional actors, including governments, social movements, and individual actors. Results from an ongoing survey project on threats and harassment of political scientists in Europe will first be presented as a background to the conversation. From here, the panel will debate the various ways in which we can engage with these challenges as an academic community, and the ways in which our institutions should support us.