The campus of Istanbul UniversityWIKIMEDIA, DANBURYAfter a military faction attempted to overthrow the Islamic government in Turkey two months ago, the government has been targeting academics, arresting, suspending, and forcing them from the academy. After the failed coup attempt on July 15, the presidents of four Turkish universities and more than 1,500 university deans have been asked to resign. In late July, 167 staff members were reportedly dismissed from Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUBITAK). All academics have also been banned from leaving the country.
The coup, reportedly led by rebel soldiers, came at a time when academics were already under intense scrutiny from the government, following an online petition in which many scientists (and other scholars) protested the government’s treatment of the country’s Kurdish minority. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused those who signed the petition of supporting terrorist propaganda and helping terrorists achieve their goals. According to Inside Higher Education, “The space for academic freedom in Turkey has by many accounts been shrinking in recent years against what observers describe as increasing authoritarianism and a drift away from secularism.”
These recent events underscore the challenges Turkish scientists face as they strive to increase the country’s scientific development and influence, a goal that would require greater international collaboration and ...
