Illiberal Politics and Threats Against Academic Freedom

This chapter addresses the challenges posed by illiberalism to academic freedom. The study starts by addressing the historical context in which academic freedom was diminished, moving to the recent rise of illiberalism and the challenges it poses for higher education. Through an examination of instances of illiberal attacks on academic freedom, the authors argue that academia needs to respond at an institutional level to the two main illiberal challenges – attacks toward academia as a legitimate site of knowledge production, and an anti-gender agenda focused on reversing progress made in gender equality. This study relies on a range of methodological tools, ranging from historical comparative analysis of the institutional relationship between states and universities, to normative analysis of broad policy frameworks and case studies at the national level.