Course Convenors
- Claudia Matthes, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
- Nemanja Džuverović, University of Belgrade
Course Description
Academic Freedom at Risk is a hybrid, interdisciplinary course jointly offered by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin of Berlin and the University of Belgrade. The course examines academic freedoms as a cornerstone of democratic societies and explores the growing political, institutional, and societal pressures faced by universities. Combining theoretical perspectives with empirical case studies, the course situates academic freedom within broader debates on democracy, democratic backsliding, and civic engagement.
Students will analyse how political influence, restrictions on institutional autonomy, and the marginalisation of critical voices affect universities as spaces of free knowledge production and democratic debate. The course adopts a comparative and transnational approach, encouraging participants to reflect on similarities and differences across national contexts. Interactive teaching methods such as mixed student teams, collaborative projects, and engagement with civil society actors, media, and NGOs are central to the course design.
Course outcome
- critically explain the concept of academic freedom and its relationship to democracy, institutional autonomy, and civic engagement
- identify and analyse key political, legal, and societal threats to academic freedom in different national and regional contexts
- compare empirical case studies of universities under political pressure and assess similarities and differences across different political systems
- apply interdisciplinary analytical tools to evaluate the role of universities as democratic actors and sites of public debate
- engage constructively in transnational and intercultural academic collaboration through joint research and group work
- design evidence-based strategies to protect academic freedom at institutional and individual levels
- translate academic analysis into policy-relevant recommendations and public-facing outputs
Course Structure
Three lectures from this course are open for Circle U. community and are listed below:
- 21 April 2026 14:15-15:30 - Keynote lecture: Is Academic Freedoms at Risk? - Adam Fagan, King’s College London
- 28 April 14:00-15:30 - The Academic Freedom Index: Conceptualising and Measuring Academic Freedom Worldwide - Jannika Spannagel, Freie Universität Berlin and the Academic Freedom Index Project Team
- 12 May 2026 14:00-15:30 - Populist Politics in Comparative Perspective: Drivers, Manifestations, and Democratic Outcomes - Lars V. Johannsen, Aarhus University
Lecture descriptions
Is Academic Freedoms at Risk?
Academic freedom is understood in the UK and across much of the Western liberal democratic world as a distinctive right enabling scholars to pursue, publish, and teach knowledge without institutional or political interference. It differs fundamentally from general freedom of speech in being tied to professional expertise and institutional responsibility. This lecture will consider how academic freedom is defined and distinguished from broader free speech, why it is currently perceived to be under threat, and what steps are deemed necessary to defend and strengthen it. The lecture will also compare the situation in the UK and Europe with the situation in the US. In the UK, there is a perception that academic freedom faces pressure from two directions simultaneously: government legislation, notably the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, risks politicising university governance while claiming to protect open inquiry; and campus protests, most visibly around the Israel-Palestine conflict, have raised contested questions about the boundaries of permissible expression. Protecting academic freedom requires robust institutional autonomy, clear policy frameworks, and a campus culture valuing genuinely open, evidence-based debate
The Academic Freedom Index: Conceptualising and Measuring Academic Freedom Worldwide
This lecture presents the freshly published data from the Academic Freedom Index 2026 edition, established by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and the V-Dem Institute. It elaborates on the patterns, causes and effects of academic freedom contestations and provides an overview on the situation in 179 countries and territories around the world. The lecture will also introduce the methodology and the accessibility of the Index and will show students how they can use the data for own research activities.
Populist Politics in Comparative Perspective: Drivers, Manifestations, and Democratic Outcomes
This lecture examines populism as a thin-centered ideology structured around a moralized opposition between “the people” and “the elite.” It traces the historical development of populist movements, differentiates left‑ and right-wing variants, and analyzes contemporary demand‑ and supply-side drivers. The session explores how media environments shape populist communication and assesses the political and institutional consequences of populism within democratic systems, including polarization, norm erosion, and shifts in party competition. Empirical cases from Europe, the Americas, and beyond illustrate these dynamics. A subsequent session will apply these concepts through a practical coding exercise analyzing populist content in political speeches.
This course is intended for student studying specific master programs at Humboldt University and University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science. Each student enrolled in these programs will attend the course.
Transcript of record will be delivered after successful completion of the course. For the University of Belgrade that would be June 2026 and for Humboldt University the date would be Jule 2026:
Semester dates: University of Belgrade (23 March – 9 June, 2026); Humboldt University (13 April - July 17, 2026)
