Academic Freedom between History and Human Rights in a Global Context

This chapter examines the phenomenon of academic freedom from a global, historical, and human rights perspective. Its first part presents academic freedom as a right that comes with duties and conditions. Professional norms and duties toward the academic community, the university and society determine its limits. The internal condition under which academic freedom thrives—institutional autonomy—and the delicate balance between academic freedom and institutional autonomy are then discussed, indicating historical antecedents of both in the process. The external condition for academic freedom lies in the guarantees offered by the State and by society to universities in constitutions, laws, and policies. The question of why academics are so often among the first targets of repression is tackled and the external parties exerting improper pressure on them identified. This first part also deals critically with the problem of how to measure academic freedom. The second part examines how academic freedom is related to the broader web of human rights and which of the latter serve as basic conditions for the former. It tries to dissipate the persistent confusion between academic freedom and freedom of expression. This part also contains an appraisal of the most controversial question: how can academic freedom be justified? Four answers to that question are discussed. The outcome of that evaluation leads to the larger question of what exactly the role of universities in a society is. Three unique tasks are identified. Assessing each of them leads to the conclusion that academic freedom is necessary for the university’s survival.