Research and scholarship are key for social progress. But what happens when scientific inquiry is met with hostility or repression? Across the world, academics and universities are facing interference, censorship or even violent reprisals. While many countries have committed to safeguarding an open and free academic environment, in a lot of places, academic freedom is under attack.
To better understand the global state of academic freedom, researchers in Germany and Sweden have developed an Academic Freedom Index (AFi) - a time-series dataset that quantifies the level of academic freedom in 175 countries and territories.
How does it work? In this video, we explain the methodology that underpins the index and explore why academic freedom is so important. We hope that expanding the conversation on free science and scholarship will have a cascading effect: that better knowledge will spark critical debates on infringements and inspire action to protect and promote academic freedom.
---
The Academic Freedom Index is the result of close cooperation between researchers at the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) in Berlin, the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg and the V‑Dem Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden. In addition, we work closely with the Scholars at Risk network.
To explore the AFi data, visit the V-Dem website: www.v-dem.net/en/online-graph...
To learn more about the project and our recommendations for putting the index into action, visit: www.gppi.net/academicfreedom
To find case studies and guidelines for your own research, visit: www.pol.phil.fau.eu/academicf...
To learn more about scholars at risk, visit: www.scholarsatrisk.org/