The politics of protest and academic freedom in time of transition, crisis, and war

A panel discussion with Vice Chancellor Adam Habib (SOAS University of London), Professor Lisa Anderson (Columbia University), and Professor Rabab El-Mahdi (American University of Cairo), chaired by Professor Leslie Vinjamuri (SOAS University of London).

Student protests across universities in the US in response to the Israel-Hamas war have galvanized a wave of protests in Europe and the Middle East. This panel will look at the current protests in comparative perspective, drawing on experiences from Egypt and South Africa, as well as the US and UK. We look at vital questions surrounding the role of the university and the implications for academic freedom and freedom of speech, especially in time of war, conflict, and political transition.

Adam Habib is Vice Chancellor of SOAS University of London. Previously, he was Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwaterstrand (Wits). He has published extensively on issues of democratisation and its consolidation in South Africa and contemporary social movements. He is author of Rebels and Rage: Reflecting on Fees Must Fall.

Lisa Anderson is Special Lecturer and Dean Emerita School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. From 2011-2016 she was President of the American University in Cairo. She is a scholar of the Middle East and author of several books including Pursuing Truth, Exercising Power: Social Science and Public Policy in the Twenty-first Century.

Rabab El Mahdi is an associate professor of political science at The American University in Cairo (AUC). She is author of Political Manipulation? Civil Society and the State in Egypt and Bolivia.

Leslie Vinjamuri is Co-Chair of the SOAS Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy as well as a member of the SOAS Centre on Conflict, Rights and Justice. Leslie is currently leading research initiatives on Reimagining Multilateralism; the US, China and Geopolotical Competition in the Global South; and The Global Implications of Threats to US Democracy.  She is also director of the US and Americas programme at Chatham House, and chair of the faculty of the Queen Elizabeth II Academy.

*This will be an in person event with some panellists joining virtually.