Abstract

This roundtable builds on the conference “Academic Freedom in Flux: Purpose, Beneficiaries, and Practices in the Contemporary World” (Tashkent, October 2025), co-organized by CISRUS (GWU) and Tashkent State University of Economics. Focusing on the Central Asian context, the discussion will examine recent trajectories in academic freedom, science, and higher education across the region—systems shaped not only by political constraints, but also by reform agendas, international partnerships, and global integration.

Although national systems now differ significantly, they share a Soviet institutional legacy that continues to influence governance, norms, and academic cultures. Debates over colonial pasts and their contemporary afterlives inform current disputes about university autonomy and the protection of academic rights.

Participants will explore how scholars, educators, and students negotiate restrictions, sustain research and teaching, and adapt to shifting institutional and political environments. Special attention will be given to the practical significance of academic freedom for knowledge production, scientific advancement, and the public good. The roundtable will also engage the debate over the universality of academic freedom and the challenges posed by cultural relativism.

By situating Central Asian developments within broader global conversations, the session aims to illuminate the region’s challenges and opportunities—and to consider how academic freedom will shape the future of science and higher education.

Participants:

Irina Meyer Olimpieva (IERES, GWU) - moderator

Dmitry Dubrovsky, (Charles University)

Inomiddin Imomov (Tashkent State University of Economics)

Dinara Gagarina (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg)

Alexander Vileykis (Alamaty University of Management)

Madina Yussubaliyeva (East Kazakhstan Technical University)

Martha C. Merrill (Kent State University, OH)