Attacks on scholars a threat to democracy in Africa : the link between decreased academic freedom and the stagnation of democracy

Abstract

According to the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project, the percentage of attacks on higher education is higher in Africa than in any other region. And with Covid lockdowns, the academic freedom at African universities has been challenged even further. Given the strong links between academic freedom and democracy, organisations working with democratic development in Africa should take action to support and protect scholars at risk.