INSIGHT: Turkey’s Crackdown on Academic Freedom
November 19, 2012 By Howard Eissenstat
In Turkey, it is not “publish or perish” that scholars must fear. It is prison.
There was a time, not very long ago, when Turkey seemed on the edge of a new era of academic and intellectual freedom. New private universities created institutional support for more independent scholarship, while the Turkish government showed at least grudging willingness to allow debate of formerly “taboo subjects.” For example, in 2005, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), after initial hesitation, publicly supported the first conference in Turkey that seriously examined the Armenian Genocide. It soon became apparent, however, that the AK Party’s vision of academic freedom has clear limits.
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