Roundtable

Academic Freedom in a Time of Gaza: The Riskification of Humanitarian Speech 

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Abstract

Since October 2023, universities have increasingly become sites where humanitarian expression concerning Gaza is negotiated through institutional logics of governance rather than solely through principles of academic freedom. This article introduces the concept of the riskification of humanitarian speech to explain how expressions of concern for civilian suffering are increasingly reframed as matters of reputational, legal, financial, and political risk. Drawing on critical scholarship by Joan Wallach Scott, Judith Butler, Wendy Brown, Sara Ahmed, and Achille Mbembe, the article argues that contemporary universities are shifting from protecting intellectual dissent to managing institutional exposure. Rather than relying on direct censorship, universities increasingly govern controversial speech through procedural mechanisms, administrative caution, and appeals to neutrality. The article contends that neutrality frequently functions as a strategy of institutional risk management rather than political impartiality. While focusing on debates surrounding Gaza, the analysis offers a broader framework for understanding the changing relationship between academic freedom, humanitarian discourse, and university governance in an era of intensifying political polarisation.

Keywords: academic freedom, gaza, humanitarian speech, riskification, university governance, institutional neutrality, higher education

How to Cite:

(2026) “Academic Freedom in a Time of Gaza: The Riskification of Humanitarian Speech ”, DiGeSt - Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies . doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/digest.101179