"Academics for Peace" and the Crisis of Academic Freedom in Turkey

In January 2016 the Turkish Higher Education Board, joined by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor's Office, launched a campaign against "Academics for Peace": 1128 academics, mostly Turkish citizens working at Turkish universities, who had signed a statement protesting the civilian impact of the government’s new counterinsurgency campaign against Kurdish militants. Some faculty members were arrested and now face both university-internal investigation and criminal charges. Others have already lost their positions or are enduring ongoing harassment. Statements of protest and support for the affected faculty members have been issued both within Turkey and around the world, coming from learned societies (including CES) and professional associations, national research councils, embassies, and beyond. Political differences over the Kurdish question, as well as personal and institutional interests, have, however, made the subject a delicate one and caused some respected members of the Turkish academic establishment to distance themselves from the signatories.

This roundtable assembles some signatories who are currently in the US to present their experiences and reflect on the academic, national, and international contexts of the crackdown as well as its possible outcomes.  They will also consider the practical challenges of international solidarity in such situations.