Jeremy Ko
Populist governance poses a profound threat to universities, undermining the autonomy essential to knowledge production. Jeremy Ko and James F. Downes reveal how populist leaders invoking 'the people' against elites consistently reduce academic freedom – and right-wing variants accelerate the decline most sharply Read more
Marina Milić
In 2024–25, Serbia’s leaderless, decentralised, nonviolent student movement made a rare thing happen: it made fear change sides. In 2026, the government has shifted from managing crowds to tightening procedural control, targeting the institutions that sheltered resistance. Universities, argues Marina Milić, are now the frontline rebels – disciplined through labour rules and a financial ‘kill switch’ Read more
Serena Fraiese
On 23 November 2025, Birzeit University in the Palestinian West Bank halted all teaching to mourn one of its law students, killed by Israeli gunfire in a nearby village. The case, says Serena Fraiese, reveals how freedom crumbles in the world outside academe before it even reaches campus Read more
Saloni Pradhan
Saloni Pradhan examines the growing threats to academic freedom in India. From controversial curriculum changes to pressure on scholars, the government is eroding intellectual autonomy. The implications for India's democracy — and the country's future as a knowledge society — are significant. Read more
Catherine Moury
One of the reasons political scientists are silent on the Israel-Gaza conflict is the fear of being marginalised by the community, writes Catherine Moury. She suggests concrete actions scholars could take to avoid normalising what she – and many fellow academics – consider is nothing short of genocide. Read more
Adam Standring
Political neutrality in the face of injustice serves to maintain the status quo. Responding to Hana Kubátová’s blog piece, Adam Standring underlines the moral necessity of organisations like ECPR taking a strong political stance in the face of violence in Palestine and a crackdown on critical voices in the West Read more
Markus Holdo
Edward Said reminded us that the history of higher education belongs to everyone and that its future depends on the imagination of teachers and students. Markus Holdo asks whether we can seize this critical moment and explore what it means to practice the utopian ideal of a free university Read more
Hana Kubátová
Political statements hinder the difficult conversations central to the mission of institutions of higher learning and scholarly associations. When institutions like ECPR speak collectively on political controversies, Hana Kubátová argues, they take academic freedom away from individual scholars and their dissenting views. Now is the time for institutional neutrality Read more
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