The contentious politics of academic freedom: Some reflections on recent threats in the context of the protests for a Free Palestine

Abstract

Although at first glance the definition of academic freedom seems straightforward, recent episodes show how its meaning is contested, especially in a moment of intense protest. The article first singles out a theoretical framework rooted in relational approach to social movement studies, presenting eventful protests as triggers for discursive critical junctures through the development of moral shocks and moral panics, fuelling a contestation of some central concepts also within academia. After briefly introducing ongoing research on the topic, in the central empirical parts of the article, main dilemmas related to the contentious politics of academic freedom are discussed. In the conclusion, academic freedom is presented as a global commitment.