Endangered Scholars Worldwide

Abstract

Endangered Scholars Worldwide Dolunay Bulut Attacks on higher education communities are occurring at an alarming rate worldwide, threatening the safety and well-being of scholars, students, and academic staff, as well as the autonomy of higher education institutions. While we continue to publish regular updates in Social Research: An International Quarterly, in response to a global increase in threats to academic freedom, Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) has expanded its presence as an online publication under the auspices of the New University in Exile Consortium (www.newuniversityinexileconsortium.org), sharing frequent updates on news and developing cases in contribution to the Consortium's efforts to create a supportive intellectual community for threatened, exiled scholars. For the most current information and ways in which you can be involved in our efforts to defend academic freedom and free expression, we invite you to visit our website www.endangeredscholarsworldwide.net or follow us at https://twitter.com/ESWNEWSCHOOL. If you are aware of a scholar or student whose case you believe we should investigate, please get in touch with us at esw@newschool.edu. Thank you for your unwavering support. SPECIAL DELIVERY Amidst a troubling global surge in violent and antidemocratic political movements, scholars, researchers, and students worldwide have become increasingly vulnerable. This dangerous trend, spanning from [End Page v] Ukraine to Afghanistan, Azerbaijan to Mali, has given rise to unprecedented levels of democratic regression. Democratic regress and its impact on academic freedom and autonomy of higher education have now reached critical proportions with the escalation of military conflict and government takeovers in the highly controversial and politically polarized Sahel region of Africa. Situated between the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south, the Sahel encompasses some of the world's most impoverished, ecologically fragile, and politically divided countries, and is a base for various radical Islamist terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram, Islamic State, and al-Qaeda. Although the protection and provision of education in the region during armed conflict has been on the UN's agenda since 2010, in the past few years the attacks on education by armed groups continued to escalate and intensify across the region, especially in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan, and Nigeria. The success of military coup d'états in Mali, Burkina Faso, and most recently Niger, as well as thwarted coup attempts in several neigh-boring states such as Guinea Bissau and the Gambia, has led to the militarization of schools and the encroachment on educational institutions by rapidly consolidating autocratic governments. These circumstances have not only established deeply troubling precedents but also led to a significant reduction in student and teacher participation in schools. As of August 2023, over 11,000 schools are closed due to escalating conflict between radical Islamist groups and state forces in the Central Sahel and the Lake Chad basin. Since 2021, the number of attacks on schools in the region has doubled. Many educational facilities have been ravaged or commandeered by paramilitary factions and armed forces. In numerous instances, Boko Haram and its affiliated splinter groups have not only targeted schools and universities but also ruthlessly killed or kidnapped hundreds of students and educators. This wave of violence has discouraged parents from sending their children to school and severely impeded equitable access to education. [End Page vi] The gravity of school attacks is exacerbated by preexisting disparities in educational access in the region, including but not limited to linguistic, ethnic, and religious tensions that further fragment schools and curtail the freedom of expression. A recent in-depth analysis by Kofi Koranteng Adu and Jonathan Odame, published in the International Journal of Educational Development in July 2023, highlights the multifaceted challenges to academic freedom in Africa. In addition to consistent reductions in national education budgets and the ascent of authoritarianism, a growing culture of self-censorship within academia is stifling scientific knowledge creation and inhibiting the free expression of scholars, students, and researchers. In order to avoid persecution and prosecution, researchers and scholars avoid writing or conducting research on certain topics that are either ideologically sensitive and controversial or culturally considered taboo, such as LGBTQ and gender and sexuality subjects. Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) is deeply alarmed...