Academic freedom and self-censorship in universities

What is it about?

This article offers an empirically inflected normative account of academic freedom, defined as freedom from domination. It reconstructs the institutional conditions and practices that induce professorial self-censorship on contentious subjects. The article employs a neo-republican theory of freedom to analyze the case of Russian academia under the authoritarian regime that continues to invoke the rhetoric of academic freedom and excellence. The disconnect between authoritarian restrictions and the ideal of academic freedom reveals the political and normative mechanisms that sustain self-censorship. The article draws on a qualitative study based on interviews conducted with Russian university professors in 2021–2022.

Featured Image

Photo by Andreia Cunha on Unsplash

Photo by Andreia Cunha on Unsplash

Why is it important?

With the example of Russian universities, the article shows that self-censorship results from political domination exerted through academic institutions. The article identifies how political domination shapes faculty perceptions of their vulnerable standing—whether in top-down relations with state regulators and university administration or in bottom-up relations with students.