Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

1-2025

Abstract

How do academics interested in the study of legal topics that implicate the state relate to and deal with pressures that shape the space available to conduct research? This article examines the nature and impact of such pressures on Asia-focused public law scholars who must contend with a more diverse socio-political environment than the liberal democratic setting in which questions of academic freedom are typically explored. We find that the Asia-centric academy is affected by a wide range of constraints that notably extends beyond intra-institutional demands to those put in place by the state. This article also highlights how the scholarly agenda as set in and by the Global North may reduce the room for Asia-centric research to engage in theory-building and concept formation and explores how Asia-centric scholars can assert agency in the face of pressures. We conclude by emphasising the need for greater self-reflectivity within the legal academy.

Keywords

academic freedom, language, non-coercive constraints, public law scholars, scholarly activism

Discipline

Asian Studies | Public Law and Legal Theory

Research Areas

Asian and Comparative Legal Systems

Publication

Asian Journal of Law and Society

First Page

1

Last Page

23

ISSN

2052-9015

Identifier

10.1017/als.2024.22

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1017/als.2024.22

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