Current Threats to Academic Freedom in Authoritarian, Illiberal, and Liberal Regimes

In the context of increasing threats and attacks on academic freedom, this essay provides an overview of the various forms that they take in different types of regimes. A first section discusses conceptions and foundations of academic freedom from sociological (in relation to field theory), legal, and historical perspectives. The second section describes the forms of violation that academic freedom faces in authoritarian and illiberal regimes: from intimidation to the prosecution of scholars, from ideological control of institutions to their banning, and from disqualification of certain currents or topics to censorship (for instance, gender studies). As shown through concrete cases, these attacks have a significant impact on the academic field in liberal regimes, via exiles, cooperation agreements, or ideological pressure. The final section analyzes the threats that academic freedom encounters in liberal regimes, which stem from both exogenous (pressure from illiberal countries) and endogenous factors (neoliberal and antiterrorist policies, as well as private interests).