On the 25th of April, the Policy Futures International Webinar Series hosted an important discussion on ‘Illiberal transformations, academic freedom and gender in Poland and Hungary’ as Andrea Petö, Professor at the Department of Gender Studies at Central European University, Vienna, and Marta Bucholc, Professor at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Sociology, gave timely keynote presentations on their current research work, and Professor Jo Dillabough, Professor Dorthe Staunæs and PhD student Rasmus Harsbo served as discussants.
Andrea Petö’s keynote presentation focused on the understanding of the rise of illiberal science policy in Hungary through a theorization of the Polypore state as she explored, among others, the case of the Central European University (CEU) and its ‘exile’ in Vienna, the issue of academic freedom, and the risk faced by scholars and universities within the EU. Marta Bucholc’s keynote presentation discussed the status of academic freedom in Poland, as she considered a ‘Postcolonial framing’ of Poland’s position in the EU and its relation to domestic politics undermining the rule of law.
The event was introduced and chaired by Katja Brøgger, Policy Futures program director and Associate Professor at Aarhus University.
