Researching Academic Freedom Researching Researching Academic Freedom
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UNIVERSITY PRESS International human rights law protects the freedom indispensable for scientific research – a prerequisite for innovation and the pursuit of knowledge. However, empirical research on the protection and violation of academic freedom remains scarce. This volume seeks to fill that gap by introducing case study guidelines as well as four sample case studies in which the authors applied these guidelines in their research on academic freedom in Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, and Russia. The book also includes an inventory of available data sources on academic freedom, providing guidance on how to utilize and contextualize these data in country- level assessments. The research guidelines and case studies presented here are the result of an international, collaborative endeavor. Collectively, the authors seek to promote systematic, comparable research on academic freedom, while also fostering a community of scholars committed to developing this nascent field of interdisciplinary human rights research. FAU Studien zu Menschenrechten 5 Katrin Kinzelbach (Hrsg.) Researching Academic Freedom Researching Researching Academic Freedom Guidelines and Sample Case Studies ISBN 978-3-96147-369-4 FAU UNIVERSITY PRESS 2020 FAU Katrin Kinzelbach (Hrsg.) Researching Academic Freedom Guidelines and Sample Case Studies FAU Studien zu Menschenrechten Band 5 Herausgegeben vom Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg – Interdisziplinäres Zentrum der FAU (CHREN) Katrin Kinzelbach (Hrsg.) Researching Academic Freedom Guidelines and Sample Case Studies Erlangen FAU University Press 2020 Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Bitte zitieren als Kinzelbach, Katrin (Hrsg.). 2020. Researching Academic Freedom. Guidelines and Sample Case Studies. FAU Studien zu Menschen- rechten Band 5. Erlangen: FAU University Press. DOI: 10.25593/978-3-96147-370-0. Autoren-Kontaktinformation: Katrin Kinzelbach, FAU Erlangen- Nürnberg, [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-0974-5346. Das Werk, einschließlich seiner Teile, ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Die Rechte an allen Inhalten liegen bei ihren jeweiligen Autoren. Sie sind nutzbar unter der Creative-Commons-Lizenz BY. Der vollständige Inhalt des Buchs ist als PDF über den OPUS-Server der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg abrufbar: https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-fau/home Umschlagfoto: https://www.flickr.com/photos/timtom/6401173599/ Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Fotograf: Thomas Guignard. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ Verlag und Auslieferung: FAU University Press, Universitätsstraße 4, 91054 Erlangen Druck: docupoint GmbH ISBN: 978-3-96147-369-4 (Druckausgabe) eISBN: 978-3-96147-370-0 (Online-Ausgabe) ISSN: 2512-4153 DOI: 10.25593/978-3-96147-370-0 Contents Introduction to the Study of Academic Freedom 1 Research Guidelines for Country Case Studies on Academic Freedom 11 Sample Case Studies Academic Freedom in Ireland 25 Academic Freedom in Brazil 63 Academic Freedom in Russia 103 Academic Freedom in Egypt 141 The Perks and Hazards of Data Sources on Academic Freedom: An Inventory 175 List of Contributors and Acknowledgements 223 Introduction to the Study of Academic Freedom Katrin Kinzelbach Academic freedom is a prerequisite for research and innovation. A lively debate about this concept is taking place in the academic community, yet scholars have so far paid scant attention to the systematic study of its empirical manifestations. To facilitate in- depth research on both the realization and the violation of academic freedom around the world, this book introduces case study guidelines as well as four sample studies that apply these guidelines to the country cases Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, and Russia. The book also includes an inventory of available data sources on academic freedom, providing guidance on how to draw on and contextualize these data in country-level assessments. The aim of this volume is to present and promote systematized and therefore comparable empirical research on academic freedom, while also fostering a community of scholars committed to developing this nascent field of interdisciplinary human rights research. To date, only a few human rights scholars have chosen to study academic freedom.1 Similarly, independent experts involved 1 Notable exceptions include Laksiri Fernando, Nigel Hartley, Manfred Nowak, and Theresa Swinehart, eds., Academic Freedom 1990. A Human Rights Report, Geneva and London: World University Service and Zed Books, 1990; Joseph H. Saunders, “Academic Freedom and Human Rights: A Neglected Perspective,” International Higher Education 13 (1998); Jogchum Vrielink, Paul Lemmens, and Stephan Parmentier, “Academic Freedom as a Fundamental Right,” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 13 (2011): pp. 117–141; and Klaus D. Beiter, Terence Karran, and Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, “Yearning to Belong: Finding a ‘Home’ 1 Introduction to the Study of Academic Freedom with the United Nation’s human rights system have largely overlooked academic freedom as an issue of concern – but this is changing. Most noteworthy in this regard is General Comment No. 25, which the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) issued in April 2020. It expounds on Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which covers various aspects of the right to science. Article 15.3 obligates states “to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research.” While this ICESCR provision is not well known, it is nevertheless widely ratified, resulting in a binding commitment under international law. Furthermore, the CESCR laid an important foundation for a more detailed understanding of Article 15.3 and subsequent monitoring of states’ obligations by adopting the following definition at the committee’s sixty-seventh session (17 February – 6 March 2020): This freedom includes, at least, the following dimensions: protection of researchers from undue influence on their independent judgment; their possibility to set up autonomous research institutions and to define the aims and objectives of the research and the methods to be adopted; the freedom of researchers to freely and openly question the ethical value of certain projects and the right to withdraw from those projects if their conscience so dictates; the freedom of researchers to cooperate with other researchers, both nationally and internationally; the sharing of scientific data and analysis with policymakers, and with the public, wherever possible.2 for the Right to Academic Freedom in the U.N. Human Rights Covenants,” Intercultural Human Rights Law Review 11 (2016): pp. 107–190. 2 UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), “General comment No. 25 on science and economic, social and cultural rights (article 15 (1) (b), (2), (3), and (4) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights),” E/C.12/GC/25, Geneva: United Nations, 2020, §13, pp. 3- 4, https://undocs.org/E/C.12/GC/25. 2 Introduction to the Study of Academic Freedom The research presented in this book adopts the committee’s definition. In so doing, the authors opt for a universalistic approach that measures states’ performance on academic freedom against a common norm. How do states, as parties to the ICESCR, implement their commitment to academic freedom? Analyzing the CESCR’s concluding observations, which include reviews of state progress reports, is a first step toward answering this question. Although states’ self-reporting on human rights issues must always be critically reviewed and contextualized, such reports can provide a useful initial orientation.3 Moreover, the independent observations of the experts on the UN committee are undoubtedly a reliable source of information, because in addition to relying on states’ reports, they also compare these self-assessments with so-called shadow reports by non- governmental organizations. Unfortunately, however, the committee’s observations rarely provide detailed information on academic freedom. When they cover this right at all, they typically mention legal provisions; another frequent focal point is discriminatory access to education. The committee rarely issues detailed observations on de facto enjoyment of the freedom to research and teach or on other dimensions of academic freedom, such as the freedom to set up autonomous research institutions.4 Therefore, independent country assessments are indispensable to better understanding how states respect, protect, and promote academic freedom in practice. 3 For more information, see the chapter by Janika Spannagel in this volume, pp. 175–221. 4 This statement is based on a review of UN documentation from 1988 to 2019. The analysis covered 403 documents in total, including state reports and CESCR concluding observations. I gratefully acknowledge Alicja Polakiewicz’s research assistance in this analysis. 3 Introduction to the Study of Academic Freedom The case study guidelines presented in this book are the result of an iterative, collaborative research process, which began with an expert consultation held at the Fritz Thyssen Foundation in Cologne, Germany in late 2017.5 This initial workshop brought scholars from different disciplines (law, political science, history, higher education, and area studies) together with