Academic Freedom and Political Legitimation in a Contemporary Globalised World

Abstract

Since their inception in Western Europe, universities have characterized themselves with a strong political dimension – that of being partially independent by the main political players (Hofstadter, 1955). In light of this, the generation of knowledge was relatively free of political restraints and autonomy was valued by means of diffusing knowledge to students. Although in common parlance universities and their academics are most usually understood as custodians of knowledge, the hidden engine of this feature is their political legitimation. This pattern is coherent with the assumptions developed in neo-institutionalism (Meyer & Rowan 1991), which underlines the link of legitimation of higher education in compliance with societal norms. This panel assumes neo-institutionalism as a key referral to define the interplay between (different forms of) academic freedom and the current political scenario. In fact, academic freedom may also refer to cultural traditions, as the differences among English and Scottish nations unveil (Collini 2006). The general assumption of the section is that neoliberalism in the global West is misinterpreting the mission(s) of higher education, compelling universities toward activities which are beneficial and important (i.e. “impact” & “employability”) yet partial and reductive (Collini 2017). We maintain that the more universities follow a neoliberal assumption, the more certain aspects of what universities may offer are reduced, if not neglected. The section is aimed at discussing these facts under this theoretical approach exploring possible (both desirable and undesirable) consequences, not only for universities, but for societies as a whole. The western tradition secured long-term development (not only technologically) bestowing some freedom to academics. On the other hand, it is to be remembered that some of the strongest discoveries in science have been gained under a tight regime of research-on-demand – war-time perhaps offering the best example – giving to academic freedom a much more nuanced valence. We follow this scheme to approach the contemporary urgent issue of the role of universities in contemporary political societies (Rider & Peters 2018). This broad research question may span three clusters of homogenous countries. “Western democracies” which are suffering a crisis of representation and the rise of post-truth – meant as populism, but also as political arena (Fuller 2018). Societies whose democratic asset is questioned or threatened, having academic freedom as one of the privileged targets. The issue of (lack of) academic freedom in not-democratic societies, especially those with high geopolitical ambitions such as China. In this regard, the section is open to any possible contextual and historical contexts, provided the issue of the contribution of higher education for its political background is discussed.