Can Free Academia Withstand Autocratization? Why Some Universities Wither While Others Survive

• In Event: Democratic Backsliding and Academic Freedom I: A Macro-Perspective

Abstract

Academic freedom faces threats in some (liberal) democracies. Since 2000, there has been a notable decline in academic freedom in 23 democracies, ranging from slow deterioration to abrupt collapse. In the same period, the level of academic freedom has increased in 32 democracies. As shown by previous research, attacks on academic freedom are systematically linked with democratic backsliding, as observed in Brazil, India, Hungary, Poland, and the United States, among others. However, academia has shown resilience in some democracies experiencing backsliding, for example in Ghana, South Korea, and the Philippines. This article aims to theorize and analyze the determinants behind academia's ability to withstand attacks in some instances of democratic decline while scholarly freedom withers in other cases. The paper draws on data from the Varieties of Democracy project, utilizing the Episodes of Regime Transformations dataset, the Academic Freedom Index alongside new data on declines and growth episodes in academic freedom. In sum, the paper will provide an overview of academic freedom decline in the context of democratic backsliding, and identify factors contributing to universities' resistance against autocratizing states’ attacks on research and education. As democracies and universities are under fire, this is not only of theoretic but also of very practical scholarly interest.

Authors

• Staffan I. Lindberg, V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg

• Lars Lott, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg