Democracy and academic freedom: :
"Nothing is lost yet"

What is the state of democracy and academic freedom in the USA? Is authoritarianism on the rise there too?

The relieving answer for the time being is that this is by no means certain. Professor Dr Mathias Risse, who teaches at Harvard and spoke at the opening of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (CoE) "Europe in the World" at Fulda University of Applied Sciences in June, impressively described the successes of both his university's resistance to the interventions of the US government and of US citizens in current protests.

The US government is certainly trying to exert political influence on research. The situation is serious, but the current dynamics give hope. His university is legally defending itself. There is also counter-pressure from society. Around seven million people took part in the demonstrations of the "No Kings" movement - that shows the strength of American civil society.

Risse stated: "We are currently in a dialectic phase. Nothing is lost yet." The government is sounding out its options. This makes it all the more important to put up resistance now.

What does this mean for Europe? At the beginning of the course, the four Master's students Frederiki Eracleous, Benedetta Favotto, Saodat Gazieva and Mahammad Samadov from the "Human Rights in Law, Politics and Society" program explained what Europe means to them: freedom and democracy were at the forefront.

The final expert panel then focussed on academic freedom. This is also under pressure in Europe, stated Professor Dr Claudia Wiesner, Head of the CoE. "Academic freedom means admitting those who do not represent your own point of view to have their say. But even in Germany and in Fulda today, there are regular debates about what research is allowed to say".

Dr Rainer Gruhlich from the Hessian Ministry of Science emphasised: "We are convinced that an open dialogue is essential for good science", whereby research defines what "good" means, not politics. Risse pointed out how important it is to repeatedly make it clear that values such as academic freedom are not easy to achieve and must be defended.

The further discussion showed that this in no way means that research should become activist. Professor Dr Matthias Klemm made it clear: "The task of research is to produce knowledge, not to make policy," and doctoral student Christina Fischer pointed out: "If research becomes too emotional, then it becomes vulnerable." As citizens, researchers could of course position themselves politically, but should clearly separate research and personal perspectives. Gruhlich finally put it in a nutshell: "In order to preserve scientific freedom, we need responsible citizens."

About the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (CoE) "Europe in the World"
The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (CoE) "Europe in the World" sees itself as a nexus for academic debate on the role of Europe and the EU in a complex global context. The CoE aims to shed light on this role critically and from many different perspectives.
 

More information on the CoE "Europe in the World"

Listen to the keynote speech