Free Universities: Putting the Academic Freedom Index Into Action
Abstract
This updated report offers policy recommendations on how to use the Academic Freedom Index (AFi) for the advancement of free universities. It calls on decision-makers in higher education and foreign policy, university administrations, research funding organizations, advocacy groups, and parliaments to use the AFi data to better protect and promote academic freedom. It also includes recommendations for scholars and students. The AFi aims to inform stakeholders, provide monitoring yardsticks, alter incentive structures, challenge university rankings, facilitate research, and ultimately promote academic freedom. It is the result of a collaborative effort between researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), the V-Dem Institute, the Scholars at Risk Network, and the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) as well as approximately 2,000 country experts around the world. AFi scores are based on the country experts’ assessments, which are collected and integrated by V-Dem using a Bayesian measurement model.
Type
Authors
Researcher in Political Science
I am passionate about exploring and comparing human rights protection and state coercion in democratic as well as authoritarian contexts. For my work and studies, I have received various scholarships and awards, and spent considerable time abroad in countries on five continents. I was previously a visiting scholar at Stanford University, USA, and a research fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute, Germany, where I co-developed the Academic Freedom Index. I hold a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Freiburg.