Academic Freedom and Democratic Development in the Philippines: Findings from Expert-coded V-Dem Data
Main Article Content
Keywords
Academic freedom, democracy, higher education institutions (HEI), Philippines, Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem)
Abstract
In this paper, we argue that academic freedom is not only an indispensable mechanism for producing knowledge but is also vital in maintaining a strong democracy. Leveraging on the newly released dataset assessing the state of academic freedom globally, we empirically demonstrate how higher levels of academic freedom are associated with greater increases in democratic development using the Philippines as a national case study. Multiple regression analysis shows that a one-unit increase in the level of academic freedom index is associated with an 11% increase in the liberal democracy index score, which suggests a positive linear relationship. Overall, the findings have implications for policymakers and other stakeholders. Ultimately, we hope that teachers will not be discouraged from fostering critical thinking, but also that students are able to exercise these hard-fought ideals and principles towards better understanding the persisting enigma that is Philippine society.
Publication History
Version of Record online: June 30, 2023
Manuscript accepted: June 29, 2023
Manuscript revised: June 26, 2023
Manuscript received: March 29, 2023
References
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Bartel, R. (2019). Academic freedom and an invitation to promote its advancement. Geographical Research, 57(3), 359-367.
Blessinger, P., & de Wit, H. (2018). Academic freedom is essential to democracy. University World News, 500(6).
Ceva, E., & Ferretti, M. P. (2018). Political corruption, individual behaviour and the quality of institutions. Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 17(2), 216-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594X17732067
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education. Routledge.
Cole, J. R. (2017). Academic freedom as an indicator of a liberal democracy. Globalizations, 14(6), 862-868.
Collier, D., Daniel Hidalgo, F., & Olivia Maciuceanu, A. (2006). Essentially contested concepts: Debates and applications. Journal of Political Ideologies, 11(3), 211-246.
Coppedge, M., Gerring, J., Knutsen, C. H., Lindberg, S. I., Teorell, J., Altman, D., Bernhard, M., Cornell, A., Fish, M. S., Gastaldi, L., Gjerløw, H., Glynn, A., Grahn, S., Hicken, A., Kinzelbach, K., Marquardt, K. L., McMann, K., Mechkova, V., & Neundorf, A. (2023). V-Dem Codebook v13. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project; https://www.v-dem.net/documents/24/codebook_v13.pdf.
Dryzek, J. S. (2016). Can there be a human right to an essentially contested concept? The case of democracy. The Journal of Politics, 78(2), 357-367.
Enyedi, Z. (2018). Democratic Backsliding and Academic Freedom in Hungary. Perspectives on Politics, 16(4), 1067-1074. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592718002165
Fossey, R., & Wood, R. C. (2004). Academic freedom and tenure. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2004(125), 51-63.
Grodzicka, E. D., & Harambam, J. (2021). What should academics do about conspiracy theories? Moving beyond debunking to better deal with conspiratorial movements, misinformation and post-truth. Journal for Cultural Research, 25(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2021.1886420
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Karran, T. (2007). Academic freedom in Europe: A preliminary comparative analysis. Higher Education Policy, 20(3), 289-313. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300159
Karran, T. (2009). Academic freedom: In justification of a universal ideal. Studies in Higher Education, 34(3), 263-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802597036
Karran, T., & Mallinson, L. (2019). Academic freedom and world-class universities: A virtuous circle? Higher Education Policy, 32(3), 397-417. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-018-0087-7
Kasuya, Y., & Mori, K. (2019). Better regime cutoffs for continuous democracy measures. V-Dem Users Working Paper Series, 25, 1-31.
Kinzelbach, K., Saliba, I., & Spannagel, J. (2022). Global data on the freedom indispensable for scientific research: Towards a reconciliation of academic reputation and academic freedom. The International Journal of Human Rights, 26(10), 1723-1740.
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Kratou, H., & Laakso, L. (2022). The impact of academic freedom on democracy in Africa. The Journal of Development Studies, 58(4), 809-826. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2021.1988080
Marquardt, K. L., & Pemstein, D. (2018). IRT models for expert-coded panel data. Political Analysis, 26(4), 431-456. https://doi.org/10.1017/pan.2018.28
Marquardt, K. L., Pemstein, D., Seim, B., & Wang, Y. (2019). What makes experts reliable? Expert reliability and the estimation of latent traits. Research & Politics, 6(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168019879561
McCoy, A.W. (2017) Philippine populism: Local violence and global context in the rise of a Filipino strongman. Surveillance & Society 15(3/4): 514-522.
Nemenzo, F. (1978). The continuing relevance of academic freedom. Third World Studies Program, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the …. Official Gazette of the Philippines. (1987). The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines- Article XIV. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/
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Official Gazette of the Philippines. (1997). R.A. 8292. https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1997/ra_8292_1997.html
Oleksiyenko, A. V., & Jackson, L. (2021). Freedom of speech, freedom to teach, freedom to learn: The crisis of higher education in the post-truth era. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(11), 1057-1062. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1773800
Özkirimli, U. (2017). How to liquidate a people? Academic freedom in Turkey and beyond. Globalizations, 14(6), 851-856.
Ramanujam, N., & Wijenayake, V. (2022). The Bidirectional relationship between academic freedom and rule of law: Hungary, Poland and Russia. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 14(1), 27-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-021-00165-3
Rodrik, D. (2016). Is Liberal democracy feasible in developing countries? Studies in Comparative International Development, 51(1), 50-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-016-9218-6
Romualdo, A. V. P. (2021, March 2). What is academic freedom and why the fuss? University of the Philippines. https://up.edu.ph/what-is-academic-freedom-and-why-the-fuss/
Spannagel, J., & Kinzelbach, K. (2022). The Academic freedom index and its indicators: Introduction to new global time-series V-Dem data. Quality & Quantity, 1-21.
Sta Maria, M. (2021, January 24). [OPINION | just saying] Do not touch academic freedom. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/opinion-just-saying-do-not-touch-academic-freedom/
Stachowiak-Kudła, M. (2021). Academic freedom as a source of rights' violations: A European perspective. Higher Education, 82(5), 1031-1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00718-3
Stachowiak-Kudła, M., Westa, S., Santos Botelho, C., & Bartha, I. (2023). Academic freedom as a defensive right. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 15(1), 161-190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-022-00188-4
Steenbergen, M. R., & Marks, G. (2007). Evaluating expert judgments. European Journal of Political Research, 46(3), 347-366.
Sulit, A. (2019). Examining legal issues in higher education: A survey of jurisprudence. 2019 Region 1 Higher Education Though Leaders' Conference. https://chedro1.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CHEDRegion1-Legal-atty-adonis-sulit.pdf
Sung, H.-E. (2004). Democracy and political corruption: A cross-national comparison. Crime, Law and Social Change, 41(2), 179-194.
Sung, H.-E. (2012). Women in government, public corruption, and liberal democracy: A panel analysis. Crime, Law and Social Change, 58(3), 195-219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-012-9381-2
Tabora, J. (2021). Academic freedom in the Philippines. Notes. Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J. Blog. https://taborasj.wordpress.com/2021/01/26/academic-freedom-in-the-philippines-notes/
Teorell, J., Coppedge, M., Skaaning, S.-E., & Lindberg, S. I. (2016). Measuring electoral democracy with v-dem data: Introducing a new polyarchy index (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 2740935). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2740935
Thomas, N. L. (2010). The politics of academic freedom. New Directions for Higher Education, 2010(152), 83-90.
Thompson, M. R. (2016). Bloodied democracy: Duterte and the death of liberal reformism in the Philippines. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 35(3), 39-68.
Vrielink, J., Lemmens, P., & Parmentier, S. (2011). Academic freedom as a fundamental right. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 13, 117–141.
Williams, J. (2016a). Academic freedom in an age of conformity: Confronting the fear of knowledge. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Williams, J. (2016b). A critical exploration of changing definitions of public good in relation to higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(4), 619-630. doi:10.1080/03075079.2014.942270
Wooldridge, J. M. (2020). Introductory econometrics: A modern approach, Seventh edition. Cengage learning.
Zaccagnino, J. M. (2020). The tragedy of Central European University: Theorizing Hungarian illiberal democracy and its threat to academic freedom note. Connecticut Law Review, 52(3), [i]-1242. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/conlr52&i=1214
Altbach, P. G. (2001). Academic freedom: International realities and challenges. Higher Education, 41(1), 205-219. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026791518365
American Association of University Professors. (1940). 1940 statement of principles on academic freedom and tenure. AAUP Bulletin, 64(2), 108-112.
Aquino, R. P. (2011). The extent of academic freedom in Philippine education. IAMURE International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(1), 1-1.
Aubrey, L. (2001). Gender, development, and democratization in Africa (pp. 87-111). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047401049_006
Bartel, R. (2019). Academic freedom and an invitation to promote its advancement. Geographical Research, 57(3), 359-367.
Blessinger, P., & de Wit, H. (2018). Academic freedom is essential to democracy. University World News, 500(6).
Ceva, E., & Ferretti, M. P. (2018). Political corruption, individual behaviour and the quality of institutions. Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 17(2), 216-231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470594X17732067
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2018). Research methods in education. Routledge.
Cole, J. R. (2017). Academic freedom as an indicator of a liberal democracy. Globalizations, 14(6), 862-868.
Collier, D., Daniel Hidalgo, F., & Olivia Maciuceanu, A. (2006). Essentially contested concepts: Debates and applications. Journal of Political Ideologies, 11(3), 211-246.
Coppedge, M., Gerring, J., Knutsen, C. H., Lindberg, S. I., Teorell, J., Altman, D., Bernhard, M., Cornell, A., Fish, M. S., Gastaldi, L., Gjerløw, H., Glynn, A., Grahn, S., Hicken, A., Kinzelbach, K., Marquardt, K. L., McMann, K., Mechkova, V., & Neundorf, A. (2023). V-Dem Codebook v13. Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project; https://www.v-dem.net/documents/24/codebook_v13.pdf.
Dryzek, J. S. (2016). Can there be a human right to an essentially contested concept? The case of democracy. The Journal of Politics, 78(2), 357-367.
Enyedi, Z. (2018). Democratic Backsliding and Academic Freedom in Hungary. Perspectives on Politics, 16(4), 1067-1074. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592718002165
Fossey, R., & Wood, R. C. (2004). Academic freedom and tenure. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2004(125), 51-63.
Grodzicka, E. D., & Harambam, J. (2021). What should academics do about conspiracy theories? Moving beyond debunking to better deal with conspiratorial movements, misinformation and post-truth. Journal for Cultural Research, 25(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/14797585.2021.1886420
Hooghe, L., Bakker, R., Brigevich, A., De Vries, C., Edwards, E., Marks, G., ... & Vachudova, M. (2010). Reliability and validity of the 2002 and 2006 Chapel Hill expert surveys on party positioning. European Journal of Political Research, 49(5), 687-703.
Karran, T. (2007). Academic freedom in Europe: A preliminary comparative analysis. Higher Education Policy, 20(3), 289-313. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.hep.8300159
Karran, T. (2009). Academic freedom: In justification of a universal ideal. Studies in Higher Education, 34(3), 263-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802597036
Karran, T., & Mallinson, L. (2019). Academic freedom and world-class universities: A virtuous circle? Higher Education Policy, 32(3), 397-417. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-018-0087-7
Kasuya, Y., & Mori, K. (2019). Better regime cutoffs for continuous democracy measures. V-Dem Users Working Paper Series, 25, 1-31.
Kinzelbach, K., Saliba, I., & Spannagel, J. (2022). Global data on the freedom indispensable for scientific research: Towards a reconciliation of academic reputation and academic freedom. The International Journal of Human Rights, 26(10), 1723-1740.
Kinzelbach, K., Lindberg, S. I., Pelke, L., & Spannagel, J. (2023). Academic freedom index–2023 update. https://academic-freedom-index.net/research/Academic_Freedom_Index_Update.pdf
Kotzian, P. (2011). Public support for liberal democracy. International Political Science Review, 32(1), 23-41.
Kratou, H., & Laakso, L. (2022). The impact of academic freedom on democracy in Africa. The Journal of Development Studies, 58(4), 809-826. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2021.1988080
Marquardt, K. L., & Pemstein, D. (2018). IRT models for expert-coded panel data. Political Analysis, 26(4), 431-456. https://doi.org/10.1017/pan.2018.28
Marquardt, K. L., Pemstein, D., Seim, B., & Wang, Y. (2019). What makes experts reliable? Expert reliability and the estimation of latent traits. Research & Politics, 6(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168019879561
McCoy, A.W. (2017) Philippine populism: Local violence and global context in the rise of a Filipino strongman. Surveillance & Society 15(3/4): 514-522.
Nemenzo, F. (1978). The continuing relevance of academic freedom. Third World Studies Program, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the …. Official Gazette of the Philippines. (1987). The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines- Article XIV. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/
Official Gazette of the Philippines. (1987). The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines- Article XIV. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philip-pines-article-xiv/
Official Gazette of the Philippines. (1994). Republic Act No. 7722. https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1994/ra_7722_1994.html
Official Gazette of the Philippines. (1997). R.A. 8292. https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1997/ra_8292_1997.html
Oleksiyenko, A. V., & Jackson, L. (2021). Freedom of speech, freedom to teach, freedom to learn: The crisis of higher education in the post-truth era. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(11), 1057-1062. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1773800
Özkirimli, U. (2017). How to liquidate a people? Academic freedom in Turkey and beyond. Globalizations, 14(6), 851-856.
Ramanujam, N., & Wijenayake, V. (2022). The Bidirectional relationship between academic freedom and rule of law: Hungary, Poland and Russia. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 14(1), 27-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-021-00165-3
Rodrik, D. (2016). Is Liberal democracy feasible in developing countries? Studies in Comparative International Development, 51(1), 50-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-016-9218-6
Romualdo, A. V. P. (2021, March 2). What is academic freedom and why the fuss? University of the Philippines. https://up.edu.ph/what-is-academic-freedom-and-why-the-fuss/
Spannagel, J., & Kinzelbach, K. (2022). The Academic freedom index and its indicators: Introduction to new global time-series V-Dem data. Quality & Quantity, 1-21.
Sta Maria, M. (2021, January 24). [OPINION | just saying] Do not touch academic freedom. RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/opinion-just-saying-do-not-touch-academic-freedom/
Stachowiak-Kudła, M. (2021). Academic freedom as a source of rights' violations: A European perspective. Higher Education, 82(5), 1031-1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00718-3
Stachowiak-Kudła, M., Westa, S., Santos Botelho, C., & Bartha, I. (2023). Academic freedom as a defensive right. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 15(1), 161-190. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40803-022-00188-4
Steenbergen, M. R., & Marks, G. (2007). Evaluating expert judgments. European Journal of Political Research, 46(3), 347-366.
Sulit, A. (2019). Examining legal issues in higher education: A survey of jurisprudence. 2019 Region 1 Higher Education Though Leaders' Conference. https://chedro1.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/CHEDRegion1-Legal-atty-adonis-sulit.pdf
Sung, H.-E. (2004). Democracy and political corruption: A cross-national comparison. Crime, Law and Social Change, 41(2), 179-194.
Sung, H.-E. (2012). Women in government, public corruption, and liberal democracy: A panel analysis. Crime, Law and Social Change, 58(3), 195-219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-012-9381-2
Tabora, J. (2021). Academic freedom in the Philippines. Notes. Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J. Blog. https://taborasj.wordpress.com/2021/01/26/academic-freedom-in-the-philippines-notes/
Teorell, J., Coppedge, M., Skaaning, S.-E., & Lindberg, S. I. (2016). Measuring electoral democracy with v-dem data: Introducing a new polyarchy index (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 2740935). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2740935
Thomas, N. L. (2010). The politics of academic freedom. New Directions for Higher Education, 2010(152), 83-90.
Thompson, M. R. (2016). Bloodied democracy: Duterte and the death of liberal reformism in the Philippines. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 35(3), 39-68.
Vrielink, J., Lemmens, P., & Parmentier, S. (2011). Academic freedom as a fundamental right. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 13, 117–141.
Williams, J. (2016a). Academic freedom in an age of conformity: Confronting the fear of knowledge. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Williams, J. (2016b). A critical exploration of changing definitions of public good in relation to higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(4), 619-630. doi:10.1080/03075079.2014.942270
Wooldridge, J. M. (2020). Introductory econometrics: A modern approach, Seventh edition. Cengage learning.
Zaccagnino, J. M. (2020). The tragedy of Central European University: Theorizing Hungarian illiberal democracy and its threat to academic freedom note. Connecticut Law Review, 52(3), [i]-1242. https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/conlr52&i=1214
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Jun 30, 2023
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How to Cite
Pernia, R., & Radiamoda, R. (2023). Academic Freedom and Democratic Development in the Philippines: Findings from Expert-coded V-Dem Data. The Normal Lights, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.56278/tnl.v17i1.1924
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Research Article
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