University Autonomy Decline: Causes, Responses, and Implications for Academic Freedom

Nov 23, 2022·
Kirsten Roberts Lyer
,
Ilyas Saliba
Janika Spannagel
Janika Spannagel
· 0 min read
Abstract

This book provides empirically grounded insights into the causes, trajectories, and effects of a severe decline in university autonomy and the relationship to other dimensions of academic freedom by comparing in-depth country studies and evidence from a new global timeseries dataset.

Drawing attention to ongoing discussions on standards for monitoring and assessment of academic freedom at regional and international organizations, this book identifies a need for clearer standards on academic freedom and a human rights-based definition of university autonomy. Further, the book calls for accompanying international oversight and the inclusion of criteria related to academic freedom in international university rankings. Five expert-authored case studies on academic freedom from diverse nations (Bangladesh, Mozambique, India, Poland, and Turkey) are included in the volume.

Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative evidence, the book offers a unique and timely contribution to the field and will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, and students in the fields of higher education, human rights, political science and public policy.

This Open Access book is available at www.taylorfrancis.com, and has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Publication
Routledge
publications
Academic Freedom Comparative Politics Book
Janika Spannagel
Authors
Janika Spannagel
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.