The article explores the complex terrain of contemporary academic freedom, drawing on the author’s personal experiences of censorship in Singapore as well as global studies on freedom of expression. It argues that although archetypal state censorship – external, visible, and coercive – remains a feature of higher education, many restrictions are indirect and institutionalised within university bureaucracies. They tend to be highly targeted, such that only a minority of scholars working on sensitive topics are directly affected. Universities are therefore able to practise censorship even as they pursue excellence, at least as measured by the higher education industry and global ranking agencies. Another common feature of academic censorship is its performative purpose. Often, it is less about removing ideas from circulation than an opportunity for university administrators to signal their compliance with government leaders and other powerful actors.
Cherian George (Wed,) studied this question.