This presentation delves into the evolving relationship between academic freedom and security within contemporary universities. It argues that institutional neutrality has become increasingly challenging to maintain in the context of geopolitical conflicts. Drawing from recent debates in European higher education, the presentation examines how policies introduced in the name of safety, pluralism, and institutional balance can reshape the boundaries of critical inquiry and public engagement.
The war in Gaza serves as a central lens for this reflection. Since October 2023, the destruction of Palestinian educational infrastructures and the targeting of scholars have exposed the material fragility of academic freedom. This incident underscores the fact that the right to think and teach is contingent on political and institutional conditions. At the same time, European campuses have witnessed student mobilizations, canceled conferences, and growing pressures on scholars. These events reveal how security discourses can function as mechanisms of neutralization rather than protection.
Rather than framing freedom and security as opposites, the presentation argues that they are intrinsically intertwined within contemporary academic governance. By engaging with critical debates on coloniality of knowledge and the politics of neutrality, this presentation invites a rethinking of academic freedom as a situated, contested practice. It emphasizes the need for universities to confront conflicts rather than manage them through precaution and silence.
Bio: Jihane Sfeir is a historian of the modern Arab world, Professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), director of OMAM (Observatory of the Arab and Muslim Worlds), and researcher at REPI (Recherche et Études en Politique Internationale).