An aspect of the freedom of expression that is protected in our Bill of Rights, academic freedom is also recognised in the Education Act, where it is defined as the freedom of academics and students ‘to question and test received wisdom, to put forward new ideas, and to state controversial or unpopular opinions.’ New Zealand has a proud legacy of academic freedom, with Karl Popper, in exile from his native Vienna, able to write his The Open Society and its Enemies here during World War II.
For all this, academic freedom is now seriously under threat in New Zealand, as it is across the English-speaking world. My new report for the New Zealand Initiative presents evidence for this proposition in the form of 72 testimonies from academics, five surveys of academics and students, and 21 academic freedom incidents.
What does all this evidence suggest?
Firstly, there is (as one academic put it) ‘a culture of fear’ in our universities. Surveys of students and academics on how free they feel to discuss a range of controversial topics, show that between 20% and 50% feel uncomfortable, depending on the topic. Many academics fear being disciplined, overlooked for promotion, or even sacked for their opinions. In recent years, speakers have been deplatformed, events have been cancelled, and academics have been investigated at our universities, all because somebody (often a university administrator) didn’t want certain views to get an airing.
The evidence also enables us to assess some common claims about our universities and free speech. For example, it is sometimes said that it is only fringe ideas that are being suppressed. In fact, most academic freedom incidents over the past decade have concerned mainstream views (such as gender-critical feminism) and topics of widespread public interest (like the Treaty of Waitangi). Contrary to the idea that free speech has always been under threat at our universities, academic freedom incidents seem to have become much more frequent in this country since 2017.
Finally, the evidence suggests that academic freedom currently faces three main threats.
The first threat comes from the spectacular leftward slant of universities across the English-speaking world and from the extreme progressivism this often breeds. In New Zealand, as in other English-speaking countries, surveys suggest that right-wing academics and students are less comfortable expressing their views, discussing controversial topics, and challenging the consensus of their left-wing peers. The two topics that Kiwi academics and students feel most uncomfortable discussing are the Treaty of Waitangi and gender/sex, both of which have become totemic issues for progressives. And several deplatformings and cancellations were aided by the notion that students need to be kept ‘safe’ from words and ideas. That idea, which runs counter to liberal democratic traditions of free speech and open discussion, seems to have roots in the more post-modern brands of progressivism.
The second threat is from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The New Zealand university sector is heavily dependent on China, with the second highest number of international students per capita globally, 36% of whom are Chinese. Between 2018 and 2020 several incidents occurred that underlined the threat that the CCP poses to academic freedom here. In one such incident, an event commemorating the the Tiananmen Square massacre at AUT, was cancelled after an official from the Chinese embassy expressed displeasure to the university. In addition, New Zealand universities have engaged with programmes that international researchers have linked to the CCP, including Confucius Institutes and the ‘Thousand Talents’ scheme.
The final threat is the managerial nature of modern universities. Several academics said they live in fear of students complaining about something they have said, and that universities’ main priority these days is protecting their brands. Senior administrators (including vice-chancellors) have played key roles in several academic freedom incidents in recent years, including in cancelling events. Meanwhile, even less senior managers appear to think that caving in to a vocal minority of student activists and clamping down on internal dissent is the way to boost their universities’ reputations.
How do we restore academic freedom to our universities? The Free Speech Union will be releasing a report of its own laying out some legislative options. In the meantime, our report recommends an annual academic freedom audit of universities, including surveys of academics and students. It also recommends that university administrators receive training about the importance of academic freedom and their obligation to uphold it.
Changes of this sort will likely be resisted by some students and academics, many of whom think there is no problem with academic freedom on campus (perhaps because their opinions are not the unpopular ones). If we can implement these or similar reforms, though, there is an opportunity for New Zealand to gain a competitive advantage in the global market for intellectuals – especially those like Karl Popper, who are looking for a place where they can finally be safe to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas.
Dr James Kierstead is Senior Lecturer in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington.This article was first published HERE
What does all this evidence suggest?
Firstly, there is (as one academic put it) ‘a culture of fear’ in our universities. Surveys of students and academics on how free they feel to discuss a range of controversial topics, show that between 20% and 50% feel uncomfortable, depending on the topic. Many academics fear being disciplined, overlooked for promotion, or even sacked for their opinions. In recent years, speakers have been deplatformed, events have been cancelled, and academics have been investigated at our universities, all because somebody (often a university administrator) didn’t want certain views to get an airing.
The evidence also enables us to assess some common claims about our universities and free speech. For example, it is sometimes said that it is only fringe ideas that are being suppressed. In fact, most academic freedom incidents over the past decade have concerned mainstream views (such as gender-critical feminism) and topics of widespread public interest (like the Treaty of Waitangi). Contrary to the idea that free speech has always been under threat at our universities, academic freedom incidents seem to have become much more frequent in this country since 2017.
Finally, the evidence suggests that academic freedom currently faces three main threats.
The first threat comes from the spectacular leftward slant of universities across the English-speaking world and from the extreme progressivism this often breeds. In New Zealand, as in other English-speaking countries, surveys suggest that right-wing academics and students are less comfortable expressing their views, discussing controversial topics, and challenging the consensus of their left-wing peers. The two topics that Kiwi academics and students feel most uncomfortable discussing are the Treaty of Waitangi and gender/sex, both of which have become totemic issues for progressives. And several deplatformings and cancellations were aided by the notion that students need to be kept ‘safe’ from words and ideas. That idea, which runs counter to liberal democratic traditions of free speech and open discussion, seems to have roots in the more post-modern brands of progressivism.
The second threat is from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The New Zealand university sector is heavily dependent on China, with the second highest number of international students per capita globally, 36% of whom are Chinese. Between 2018 and 2020 several incidents occurred that underlined the threat that the CCP poses to academic freedom here. In one such incident, an event commemorating the the Tiananmen Square massacre at AUT, was cancelled after an official from the Chinese embassy expressed displeasure to the university. In addition, New Zealand universities have engaged with programmes that international researchers have linked to the CCP, including Confucius Institutes and the ‘Thousand Talents’ scheme.
The final threat is the managerial nature of modern universities. Several academics said they live in fear of students complaining about something they have said, and that universities’ main priority these days is protecting their brands. Senior administrators (including vice-chancellors) have played key roles in several academic freedom incidents in recent years, including in cancelling events. Meanwhile, even less senior managers appear to think that caving in to a vocal minority of student activists and clamping down on internal dissent is the way to boost their universities’ reputations.
How do we restore academic freedom to our universities? The Free Speech Union will be releasing a report of its own laying out some legislative options. In the meantime, our report recommends an annual academic freedom audit of universities, including surveys of academics and students. It also recommends that university administrators receive training about the importance of academic freedom and their obligation to uphold it.
Changes of this sort will likely be resisted by some students and academics, many of whom think there is no problem with academic freedom on campus (perhaps because their opinions are not the unpopular ones). If we can implement these or similar reforms, though, there is an opportunity for New Zealand to gain a competitive advantage in the global market for intellectuals – especially those like Karl Popper, who are looking for a place where they can finally be safe to question and test received wisdom, and to put forward new ideas.
Dr James Kierstead is Senior Lecturer in Classics at Victoria University of Wellington.This article was first published HERE
4 comments:
Suppression of free speech in universities is concurrent with the now overt indoctrination of staff and students who are obliged to promote the Te Ao vison of the world.
NZ academia will be the laughing stock of the world.
The warning , first issued by one of Western Civilization's greatest atheists the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was that the ideas of Western Civilization were based on Christianity. Because some of these ideas seem to have taken on a life of their own , we might have the illusion that we can abandon Christianity while re-taining them . This illusion warns us , is just that. Remove Christianity and the ideas fall too. Nietzsche also warns that with the decline of Christianity , new and opposing ideas would arise.
Our idea of freedom . was not from the Greeks who exercised their freedom solely through active involvement in the political life of the city. There was no freedom of thought or of religion as we have now.
The modern idea of freedom , by contrast , is rooted in a respect for the individual . It includes the right to express our opinion which does seem to be slipping away not just at the tertiary level but throughout society.
Left wing tyrants such as Trudeau in Canada and Starmer in England are emboldened by universities' ideological censorship and disrespect for freedom of speech, ideas and being able to hear them.
Very well considered and argued by the way Dr Kierstead
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