Threats to academic freedom = threat to democracy

The Scholars at Risk issued a report covering incidents over the last year from travel restrictions to firings that undermine academic freedom. Adding concern to the annual report, the Executive Director noted, "What you're seeing I think is an erosion of respect for the idea that society tolerates questions. And when the state starts to punish people simply for asking questions, that's not just a threat to academic freedom, that's a threat to democracy. Obviously, if the generally rights-respecting states are having their own democracy erode, they're less viable partners in trying to help states that have bigger security problems."A directive from the Chinese Ministry of Education is only one example where the threat of controlled speech may impact academic freedom for all types of higher education institutions.

Educators and political figures in the U.S. are embroiled in debate over the boundaries that should be observed in order to protect dissent and free speech. When Attorney General Sessions was scheduled to speak at Georgetown University's School of Law, reflecting a commitment to freedom of thought in speech in itself, faculty and students protested his appearance. The faculty were particularly careful to indicate that they did not object to Sessions' appearance but were protesting a wide variety of positions Sessions has taken during his political career. While protestors demonstrated outside the venue where Sessions was scheduled to speak, Sessions himself decried the restrictions he claimed are being imposed regarding free speech on many college campuses.

The link between academic freedom and democracy is long and deep. John Dewey's advocacy for democratic classrooms in the early 20th century served as one of the pillars of student affairs work and Dewey's influence in China was so profound that the Communist party banned reference/use of  his philosophy when it came to power. Protecting academic freedom is key to unfettered research, learning, and the advancement of knowledge; maybe that's why it was such a threat to China and is so widely disputed on many campuses.