ECPR Statement Regarding US President Executive Order, 'Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States'

On January 27 2017, the US President issued an Executive Order entitled ‘Protecting the Nation From Terrorist Entry Into the United States’, which suspends entry into the US for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) is a professional association devoted to the academic study of political processes, and as such ECPR does not interfere in the domestic politics of any particular country.

However, academic freedom is vital for the academic study of politics, and ECPR feels obliged to speak out whenever academic freedom is at risk.

While recognising that the Executive Order is not aimed directly at restricting academic freedom, ECPR deplores the impact that this ban has on the ability of scholars who are citizens of any of the seven countries mentioned – which includes several colleagues who are affiliates of ECPR member institutions – to travel to the United States in order to collaborate and exchange ideas with political scientists at US universities, and to attend academic conferences held in the US.

We call on the US government to rescind this Executive Order so that it does not have these adverse effects on academic freedom.

The Executive Committee of the ECPR

Keywords: Islam, Migration, Nationalism, Religion, Terrorism, USA, Freedom, Global, Immigration, Asylum