If there are any institutions that should be above culture wars, they are universities, writes Anne Corbett. They live or die by their commitment to ethical standards in research, and their mission to ensure that students in the course of their studies learn to think critically about challenging ideas. Yet despite their achievements during the pandemic, universities are currently under attack by governments in many parts of Europe for allegedly embracing ideologies and restricting free speech. How might European higher education platforms help take the heat out of these polarising issues

Corbett, Anne

English

LSE Research Online

Moral	panics	about	free	speech:	How	shouldEuropean	universities	respond?If	there	are	any	institutions	that	should	be	above	culture	wars,	they	are	universities,	writes	Anne	Corbett.	They	liveor	die	by	their	commitment	to	ethical	standards	in	research,	and	their	mission	to	ensure	that	students	in	the	courseof	their	studies	learn	to	think	critically	about	challenging	ideas.	Yet	despite	their	achievements	during	the	pandemic,universities	are	currently	under	attack	by	governments	in	many	parts	of	Europe	for	allegedly	embracing	ideologiesand	restricting	free	speech.	How	might	European	higher	education	platforms	help	take	the	heat	out	of	thesepolarising	issues?Academic	freedom	is	in	the	news	and	not	just	in	Britain.	At	least	four	governments	across	Europe	have	claimedthey	need	to	protect	those	academics	who	assert	they	are	a	persecuted	minority	within	universities.	Thesedevelopments	signal	a	heating	up	of	the	culture	wars.The	Polish	Minister	for	Education	recently	announced	that,	‘especially	in	the	humanities	and	social	sciences’,	theway	things	are	going	is	‘not	in	the	direction	we	would	like’.	Legislation	has	been	promised	to	guarantee	thatacademics	expressing	conservative,	Christian	or	nationalist	views	will	not	be	disciplined.The	populist	government	of	Viktor	Orbán	in	Hungary,	which	passed	a	law	in	2017	outlawing	foreign	universities,	hasdriven	the	respected	American-Hungarian	Central	European	University	out	of	the	country.	A	ruling	by	the	Court	ofJustice	of	the	European	Union	that	the	government’s	actions	were	illegal	came	only	after	the	university	had	moved.Since	then	the	Hungarian	Academy	of	Sciences	has	become	subject	to	direct	government	control.	Researchers	arecurrently	protesting	that	changes	to	research	funding	are	framed	to	reward	Orbán	loyalists.In	France,	the	French	Minister	for	Universities	has	been	widely	criticised	for	reviving	assertions,	already	aired	byher	boss,	the	Minister	for	Education,	that	‘Islamo-gauchisme’	a	supposed	sympathy	for	jihadists	by	left	wingresearchers,	is	a	‘gangrene’	eating	away	at	universities.	She	has	ordered	the	CNRS,	the	French	research	agency,to	conduct	an	enquiry	into	French	university	research	focused	on	colonialism	and	race	to	identify	those	‘wanting	tofracture	and	divide’.Meanwhile,	in	England,	the	Secretary	of	State	for	Education,	Gavin	Williamson,	is	preparing	to	legislate	on	freedomof	speech	as	a	result	of	‘chilling’	reports	from	conservative	academics	alleging	‘unacceptable	silencing	andcensoring’	of	conservative	academics.	He	will	be	appointing	a	‘free	speech	champion.’Taking	up	proposals	from	the	think	tank,	Policy	Exchange,	he	has	issued	instructions	to	the	regulator,	the	Office	ofStudents,	to	take	action	against	‘university	administrators	and	heads	of	faculty	where,	for	ideological	reasons	or	toconform	to	the	perceived	desires	of	students,	there	is	‘pressure	or	force	on	teaching	staff	to	drop	authors	or	textsthat	add	rigour	and	stretch	to	a	course.’	Judging	from	earlier	interventions	by	other	government	ministers,	the	studyof	critical	race	theory	and	‘white	privilege’	will	be	targeted	regardless	of	how	and	why	they	have	a	place	in	socialsciences	teaching	and	research.LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Moral panics about free speech: How should European universities respond? Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-02-23Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/02/23/moral-panics-about-free-speech-how-should-european-universities-respond/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/Credit:	ShutterstockIn	the	UK,	the	institutional	response	seems	to	have	been	drowned	out	by	the	headlines	given	to	the	minister.	Butformer	ministers,	on	both	sides	of	the	political	divide,	have	joined	in	the	criticism.	The	Russell	Group	has	called	for	aproportionate	response,	given	that	robust	academic	debate	and	the	opportunity	to	engage	with	challenging	ideasare	fundamental	to	the	educational	experience	at	UK	universities.	Universities	UK,	speaking	for	all	Britishuniversities,	points	out	there	are	already	significant	legal	protections	for	freedom	of	speech.The	protests	within	the	French	university	world,	in	contrast,	have	been	present	across	the	media.	The	universityrectors	of	the	CPU,	the	French	equivalent	of	Universities	UK,	are	calling	for	an	end	to	sterile	polemics	explainingthat	‘Islamo-gauchisme’	has	no	theoretical	place	in	academic	work.	The	CNRS,	which	wasn’t	warned	about	theminister’s	intention,	is	currently	playing	for	time	as	to	how	to	handle	this	unexpected	request.	And	while	PresidentMacron	appeared	to	criticise	the	minister	following	her	claims,	she	was	still	in	place	at	the	time	of	writing.How	to	move	onSo	how	to	defuse	this	highly	polarised	atmosphere	within	Europe?	Universities	have	a	reference	point	in	their	ownMagna	Carta,	the	Magna	Charta	Universitatum,	a	declaration	that	the	university	is	‘an	autonomous	institution	at	theheart	of	societies…	which	must	be	morally	and	intellectually	independent	of	all	political	authority	and	economicpower’.	Drawn	up	by	the	rectors	of	some	of	Europe’s	oldest	university	institutions	in	1988,	and	recentlysupplemented,	it	has	resonated	with	universities	in	88	countries.	Almost	1,000	of	them	have	signed	the	charter.Conventional	NGOs	are	upping	their	game.	Scholars	at	Risk	is	working	with	the	Global	Public	Policy	Institute,	todevelop	an	Academic	Freedom	Index	based	on	university	practices	rather	than	the	presence	of	a	legal	text	whichhas	often	proved	easy	to	get	around.	Some	governments	are	also	taking	a	stand.	Germany	used	the	platform	of	theEU	presidency	last	year	to	launch	the	Bonn	Declaration	of	Scientific	Research	in	October	2020,	which	usefullymakes	links	between	the	European	Research	Area	(ERA)	and	the	European	Higher	Education	Area	(EHEA).	Justas	significant,	it	provided	some	political	leadership	on	the	need	to	increase	public	trust	in	science,	as	well	as	toprotect	research	from	political	intervention.The	EHEA,	which	stretches	from	Western	Europe	to	the	fringes	of	Central	Asia,	has	Belarus	and	Turkey	asadditional	problems.	Meeting	in	Rome	last	November,	all	49	of	its	ministers,	including	those	accused	ofinfringements,	signed	a	communique	recognising	the	ambient	threats	to	‘the	freedom	of	academic	staff	andstudents	to	engage	in	research,	teaching,	learning	and	communication,	in	and	with	society	without	interference	orfear	of	reprisal’.LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Moral panics about free speech: How should European universities respond? Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-02-23Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/02/23/moral-panics-about-free-speech-how-should-european-universities-respond/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/In	a	first,	they	asked	the	management	body	of	the	EHEA,	the	Bologna	Follow	up	Group,	to	give	them	a	frameworkto	‘foster	self-reflection,	constructive	dialogue	and	peer-learning	across	national	authorities,	higher	educationinstitutions	and	organisations,	while	also	making	it	possible	to	assess	the	degree	to	which	these	are	honoured	andimplemented	in	our	systems’.	The	message	that	the	EHEA	is	sending	is	that	academic	freedom	is	not	the	propertyof	the	left	or	right	and	that	there	should	be	structures	for	scrutiny.But	to	get	that	message	beyond	the	bounds	of	ministerial	communiques	requires	that	the	many	actors	in	highereducation	across	Europe	be	more	assertive	in	defending	academic	freedom.	There	are	already	powerfulprofessional	networks	in	place	that	stretch	wide	into,	and	across,	national	systems.	The	EHEA	itself	has	theEuropean	Commission,	the	Council	of	Europe,	the	European	University	Association,	and	the	European	StudentsUnion	among	its	permanent	members.	They	have	opportunities	to	stiffen	the	resolve	of	the	higher	educationministers	who	legitimate	the	EHEA’s	continuity.Just	as	relevant	are	the	actors	from	public	intellectuals	to	university	leadership,	academics	and	students,	and	themyriad	of	academic	and	scientific	associations	which	collaborate	on	European	policy	platforms.	Facing	down	thecurrent	moral	panics	about	universities	requires	more	bridges	to	public	understanding	about	what	universities	arefor,	as	well	as	to	what	they	do.	An	IFOP	poll	in	France,	taken	in	response	to	the	recent	controversy,	shows	hownecessary	that	is:	a	majority	of	the	French	public	believe	that	‘Islamo-gauchisme’	exists	in	universities.It	is	in	the	general	interest	that	institutions	which	stand	for	certified	knowledge,	and	those	institutions	with	politicalpower,	reach	accommodation	on	their	mutual	interests.	A	new	social	contract,	in	sum.	The	Magna	ChartaUniversitatum	may	not	have	legal	force,	but	it	is	an	appropriate	starting	point	for	all	concerned	to	re-evaluate	therole	of	universities	in	society.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	not	the	position	of	EUROPP	–	European	Politics	and	Policy	or	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	Featured	image	credit:	ShutterstockLSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog: Moral panics about free speech: How should European universities respond? Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-02-23Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/02/23/moral-panics-about-free-speech-how-should-european-universities-respond/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/

Moral panics about free speech: how should European universities respond?

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/109090/1/europpblog_2021_02_23_moral_panics_about_free_speech_how_should.pdf

Moral panics about free speech: how should European universities respond?

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

LSE Research Online