Introduction

Academic freedom has increasingly become a focus for heated debate, which is typically polarised and vitriolic, with a highly charged commentary of academic freedom being under attack. There is a presumed irreconcilability of the principles of academic freedom on the one hand, and diversity and inclusion on the other. Traditional libertarian approaches typically place a primacy on protecting free speech, in contrast to approaches expressing concerns that unfettered free speech can be utilised by those traditionally holding power in ways that harm traditionally marginalised communities. These disputes in turn impact on assumptions about what kind of political education is feasible in today's society.

In addition to dominant media and political discourses that academic freedom is increasingly under threat globally, data from the Academic Freedom Index report a widespread decline based on a number of empirical measures in countries in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, as well as in the UK and the US. The most significant declines are reported to be in Hong Kong, Brazil, Turkey, Thailand, India and Russia, associated with significant declines in measures of democracy (Kinzelbach et al, 2022). However, it is argued that discourses claiming that academic freedom is under greater threat in contemporary times compared to the past are ahistorical, not recognising the ongoing debates on academic freedom and the related concept of free speech over several decades.

In the UK context in 2021, a Department for Education report on higher education and academic freedom set out the ‘case for change’ (DfE, 2021). The report argues that although UK universities have historically provided a space for academic freedom and freedom of speech, there is ‘growing concern within government of a chilling effect on university campuses’, citing a 2019 Policy Exchange report based on a survey of students (DfE, 2021, p 9). While noting that academic freedom is not absolute and, in order to be operationalised, will necessarily have boundaries, a concern is expressed about individuals’ need – or perceived need – to self-censor ‘unpopular’ views. The politics of knowledge production is not acknowledged, whereby the traditionally powerful in society have typically controlled the production of knowledge.