Higher education and Research in a political context

Politics and Science: a strong link

In almost every country of the world, investment in universities and research institutions is part of governmental planning aiming at developing better societies, thanks to high-level research and a well-educated population with competitive skills.

However, the degree of top-down planning and institutional autonomy varies from country to country and even inside a specific country.

 Authoritarian states might have developed a stronger state apparatus, sometimes led by a single party where power is concentrated in the hands of a minority of decision makers. In this case, the governance of universities and research institutions is often composed of people with a strong political background – sometimes with no proven track of academic experience. Therefore, partnerships with Swiss institutions can be embedded in larger political plans aiming at reinforcing the position of the ruling party, increasing its legitimacy and developing its military power and coercive capacities. Partnerships with foreign institutions can be used to legitimize some policies or a contrario be silenced in order to hide some negative aspects of the regime.

Democracies are also active on the world stage in order to gain influence, military power and international goodwill - as well as markets. This action can be more or less hidden and can be performed through research institutes, companies or individuals.

 When entering a new scientific collaboration, a due diligence exercise should be performed on the new partner, in order to understand its agenda and motivations. This is especially true of partners based in authoritarian states. Do not hesitate to seek help of experts to gather the necessary information.

Human Rights and personal freedom

Human rights also include the right to food, to education, to work, to health and to personal liberty. From a Swiss perspective, personal rights and freedoms must be a central point in our relations with foreign countries (see Switzerland’s foreign policy strategy for 2020-23). However, Swiss attempts to promote freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of demonstration, can lead citizens from foreign countries to serious problems in their home country.

Some years ago, a common belief in liberal democracies was that international cooperation could ultimately lead to a desire for more democratic processes in authoritarian states. This view is now strongly challenged, including by a significant part of the population in those states, sometimes under the pressure of propaganda, or simply by people in favour of their government’s policies and support to cultural values. The last decade has shown that increased collaboration has not necessarily led to less authoritarian states all around the world.

Relations between authoritarian states and liberal democracies are now characterized by a game of mutual influence and colliding societal models. Recent international disputes have dramatically deteriorated the global geopolitical climate. Standard collaborations that were non problematic a couple of years ago have become more difficult or even impossible in some cases.