Academic Freedom in Europe: The Central European University Affair and the Wider Lessons

Academics like to quote Einstein when they think about academic freedom. "By academic freedom," said Albert Einstein, "I understand the right to search for truth and to publish and teach what one holds to be true." 1 In the 1940s, philosopher Karl Polanyi warned that "freedom from" could be a more important dimension than "freedom to" for those concerned with rights. 2 Today, in looking across the university world in Europe, Polanyi's words seem apt.