Extremist Views Research Articles

Samani Hanedanlığı Kubbesi Altında Fikirler, İnançlar ve Matürîdî

Abbasi Devleti’nin çevreyi kontrol etme gücünün zayıflamasına paralel olarak müstakil hanedanlıklar ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunlardan birisi de Mâverâünnehir ve Horasan coğrafyasında hâkimiyeti ele geçiren Sâmânî Hanedanlığıdır. Merkezi gücün dağılma sürecine girdiğini fark eden Sâmânî Hanedanlığı varlığını sürdürmek için farklılıkları bünyesinde tutma esasına dayalı yönetim sistemini uygular. Farklı inanç ve felsefi telakkilerin yer bulmasına zemin oluşturur. Verimli topraklar ve ipek yolu üzerinde kurduğu hâkimiyet sayesinde ise bölgeyi ticaret merkezine dönüştürür. Bu başarı, Sâmânî kubbesi altında farklı inançların ve fikirlerin yer bulmasına, bilimsel tartışmaların yapılmasına gelişmesine zemin oluşturur. Ne var ki gerek bölgenin jeopolitik konumu gerekse iktidar mücadelesinin uzantısı olan taht kavgaları, iç isyanlar, çevresel güç mücadelesi Hanedanlığı iç tüketim katmanına sürüklemiştir. 
 Hayatının yaklaşık 69 yılını Sâmânî Hanedanlığı kubbesi altında geçiren Ebu Mansûr Mâtürîdî (852 -944) dönemin en önemli düşünürüdür. Sünni anlayışın akılcı boyutunu temsil eder. Mâtürîdî’nin özgünlüğünü rahat ve müreffeh ortama, fikri tartışmaların düşük seviyede seyrettiği tezine bağlayan görüş gerçeği yansıtmamaktadır. Fikri derinliği, geliştirdiği anlama ve yorumlama yöntemi, tartıştığı konuların ilmi niteliği, aşırı görüşlere karşı verdiği mücadele önemli bir bilgin olduğunu gösterir. Bu fikri derinliğin ve özgünlüğün tarihi süreçte “kayıp olduğu” ve adının gereği gibi anılmadığı bir gerçektir. Bunun sebebi, Bağdat ve Basra’nın, Semerkant’tan daha önemli ilim merkezi olduğu, değildir. Çünkü bu dönemde entellektüel sermayenin yer değiştirdiğini gösteren birçok veri bulunmaktadır. Temel sebep, bölgede etkin olan iktidar-yorum ilişkisidir. İslam coğrafyasında bir önermenin içeriğini ilim değil, iktidar belirler. Görüşlerinden dolayı siyasî destek göremeyen Mâtürîdî merkezin dışına atılmıştır.

PAK-US ALLIANCE ON WAR OF TERROR: EVOLUTION OF PAKISTANI CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE WAKE OF INCREASED VIOLENT EXTREMISM

This paper presents the findings of exploratory research that attempts to establish the relationship between the Pakistan-United States of America alliance in the post-9/11 era and increased violent extremism in Pakistan. Moreover, its efforts to link the rise of violent extremism with the evolution of Pakistani contemporary artwork – demonstrate greater political activism. Pakistan emerged as a frontline state and key non-NATO ally of the US and the West for the War of Terror. The study offers a perspective on changes in the artwork in terms of themes and messages. The study findings suggest that Pakistan’s participation in the US-led War on Terror did work to transform the political and religious sentiments, having security implications across Pakistan. The most profound changes are evident in terms of violent extremisms in particular suicide bombing and the State’s response in waging military operations against extremist elements. The changing landscape did influence the societal sentiments and heightened skepticism of the Pakistan-US partnership. The mounting skepticism and antagonism worked to influence the artistic expressions with the rise of political activism in contemporary artwork. The artists used the visual artwork (of painting) to express their political ideas, which demonstrates a marked departure from pre-9/11 artwork. The study’s findings suggest that the artwork became more critical of the changing realities and questioned both the government and the extremist elements, including Pakistan's relationship with the US. The study concludes that the Pakistan-US partnership did result in hardening the extremist views and as a consequence rise of violent extremism. And in turn, it changed the contemporary artwork in terms of themes and messages and the emergence of political artwork in Pakistan. Keywords: War on Terror, Violent Extremism, Pakistani Contemporary Art, Political Imageries.

From Swallowing the Red Pill to Failing to Build the Wall: Allusive Cognitive Metaphors in Advocating Political and Extremist Views

Abstract The article analyzes how allusive cognitive metaphors (ACMs) function as a persuasive narrative strategy in contemporary social media–fueled storytelling cultures. The ACM is a concise way of combining intertextual and metaphorical meaning-making for use in viral storytelling. Well-known works of fiction function as a shared baseline that can be easily alluded to. This narrative-metaphorical strategy has been adopted especially frequently by populists and online groups advocating extreme ideologies, one of the prominent and influential cases being “the red pill,” coined by the antifeminist manosphere. The popularity of ACMs suggests that the interpretive contexts and target texts that narrative scholarship has grown accustomed to are changing, and that scholars of narrative and fiction need to adapt to the new challenges stemming from the ever-expanding digital sphere.

How Google Autocomplete Algorithms about Conspiracy Theorists Mislead the Public

How Google Autocomplete Algorithms about Conspiracy Theorists Mislead the Public

Education for Sustainable Development and Social Tolerance: Evidence from Teacher Education Institutions in Pakistan

Education for sustainable development is an evolving notion in teacher education that highlights the need for tolerance, acceptance, and diversity. Therefore, there is a greater need to elucidate the contributions of teacher educators in promoting social tolerance through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In addition, it is crucial to understand the challenges faced by teacher educators while dealing with the intolerant, extremist views and/or behaviors in a particular social setting. In doing so, this research interviewed teacher educators (N=12) through a purposive sampling strategy to determine the respondents’ views about the promotion of social tolerance strategies integrated with ESD. The data was analyzed through qualitative data analysis software (NVivo) and themes were extracted based on the analysis plots. The research argues that the promotion of social tolerance within teacher education through ESD is a multi-layered process and requires attention at the policy level. It suggests that the existing structure of the Teacher Education program and the curricula are barely in line with the indicated ESD contents and strategies (integration with teaching and learning) needed to promote social tolerance and societal peace in Pakistan.

Education for Sustainable Development and Social Tolerance: Evidence from Teacher Education Institutions in Pakistan

Education for sustainable development is an evolving notion in teacher education that highlights the need for tolerance, acceptance, and diversity. Therefore, there is a greater need to elucidate the contributions of teacher educators in promoting social tolerance through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). In addition, it is crucial to understand the challenges faced by teacher educators while dealing with the intolerant, extremist views and/or behaviors in a particular social setting. In doing so, this research interviewed teacher educators (N=12) through a purposive sampling strategy to determine the respondents’ views about promoting social tolerance strategies integrated with ESD. The data was analyzed through qualitative data analysis software (NVivo), and themes were extracted based on the analysis plots. The research argues that promoting social tolerance within teacher education through ESD is a multi-layered process and requires attention at the policy level. It suggests that the existing structure of the Teacher Education program and the curricula are barely in line with the indicated ESD contents and strategies (integration with teaching and learning) needed to promote social tolerance and societal peace in Pakistan.

О некоторых проблемах исследования религиозного радикализма и терроризма (на примере опыта Казахстана)

The relevance of the publication is due to the increasing manifestations of religious radicalization of the population and the threat of terrorism in the post-Soviet space and, in particular, in the Republic of Kazakhstan. One of the least developed problems is the study of psychological regularities of the emergence and development of the phenomenon of religiosity, the motives for its formation and levels of its manifestation in believers, including the formation of extreme religious views and values in an individual. The aim of the work was to describe theoretical and applied research questions on the problem of the formation of religious radicalism, extremism and terrorism in believers and followers of Islam, as well as on the methodological problems of developing psychodiagnostic tools and technologies of psychological intervention in this area. Results. The characteristics and dynamics of indices of criminal situations with radical religious extremism and terrorism manifestation in the Republic of Kazakhstan is presented. The features of psychoprophylaxis of religious extremism relapse and rehabilitation of people convicted for such crimes were considered. Some examples of such work,organized in Kazakhstan with women and children who were in terrorist activity zones for a long time were described. The necessity of studying the personal features of believers, their level of religiosity, the motivation for extremist views and the radicalisation of the personality, as well as the main targets of psychodiagnostics in order to predict behaviour from the perspective of public safety and to prevent the spread of radical ideology and values in secular society, have been substantiated. Among the main conclusions presented is the understanding of the need to develop fundamentally new approaches in psychodiagnostics of radicalization, extremism and terrorism in order to prognostically diagnose, rehabilitate and resocialize believers who have extreme criminal experiences. is behavioral analysis by means of different techniques, facts and documents with the use of methods of observation and diagnostic interview of a believer seem to be the most productive methods.

Psychological examination of the signs of extremism in the users’ social network profiles

This article is dedicated to determination of the psychological signs of extremism in the information posted by users in social networks. The object of this research is the semantic content of a social network profile. The subject of this research is the evidence of proclivity for extremism. The relevance of this research is substantiated by the need to detect materials and people who incite social, ethnic, national, political, racial and religious hostility, as well as promote extremist views on the Internet. The goal is to determine the signs of propensity for extremism based on the social network profile. The article employs expert analysis for revealing semantic content of profiles in the social network VKontakte; content analysis for studying the materials of profiles in the social network Vkontakte; methods of statistical analysis, such as factor analysis of the selected signs of extremist personality and cluster analysis of profiles. The acquired results allow formulating the criteria for identification of individuals with extremist orientation via analyzing user profiles in the social networks, as well as determining the extremist-oriented content on the Internet, and promptly responding the law enforcement agencies to the threat of antisocial behavior on the Internet platforms. The developed set of the signs of extremism allows carrying out preventive work among youth, indicating the main manifestations of “hazardous” Internet content for parents and pedagogues, as well as teenagers themselves.

Preventing Islamic radicalization: Experimental evidence on anti-social behavior

Social tensions and violence induced by radicalized Muslims afflict many parts of the world. We collaborated with the main Islamic authority in Mozambique, which sponsored two randomized interventions to prevent violence related to youth radicalization: a religious campaign against extremist views of Islam, targeting change in beliefs; and a training module on entrepreneurship and employment, aiming to increase the opportunity cost of conflict. Our measurement focuses on anti-social behavior in a Joy-of-destruction lab game. We find that only the religious treatment decreased the propensity to destroy the payoffs of others. Consistently, surveys show increased trust in the state and decreased support for extremism. We conclude that religious sensitization is likely to be cost-effective in preventing Islamic radicalization and anti-social behavior.

Letter from the Editors

Letter from the Editors

Can Terrorism Mold Itself to Outer Space?

Benefiting from the progress of technology, terrorism poses a major threat to international peace and security. Terrorist acts might move to other forms and are the culmination of processes that often begin with radicalization, the formation of extremist views, and acceptance of violence as a means through which to attempt change. As with other types of offenses, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism, but several conducts are universally accepted as expressions thereof. Terrorist-related offenses include the use of violence for political purposes, such as the hijacking of aircraft, targeting of marine vessels, the use of chemical or nuclear weapons against civilians, kidnapping, and other forms of targeting civilians. Terrorism itself is not a new phenomenon, yet the early 21st century is being shaped by a more intense focus on the issue and an increased awareness of terrorist acts and groups. If terrorism in outer space became a reality, then the cause is not different from other forms of terrorism in that violent extremism is often driven by feelings of isolation and exclusion, as well as fear and ignorance. To strengthen a sustainable solution, responses to violent extremism must be implemented in a framework respectful of human rights and the rule of law; otherwise, the exclusion is exacerbated, and the international community will witness another form of chaos.

Communities of Darkness? Users and Uses of Anti-System Alternative Media between Audience and Community

The hopes regarding the positive impact of the Internet and digital participation in civic society have faded in recent years. The digital realm is now increasingly discussed regarding its role in putting democracy in jeopardy and polarizing public debate by propagating extremist views and falsehoods. Likewise, the perception of so-called alternative media as beneficial carriers of counter-public spheres and as important complements to mainstream positions in social debate has flipped. Alternative media are now often associated with the “Wicked web” of disinformation, political populism, or even radicalization. Following Quandt’s (2018) notion of ‘dark participation’ and Phillips and Milner’s (2017) description of the Internet as ambivalent, this article asks, whether the same holds true for the users of alternative media: a segment of the audience traditionally discussed in terms of community, engagement, participation, and strong ideological identification with progressive political causes. Do users of ‘dark’ alternative media bond with their media in similar ways to constitute communities of darkness? Based on interviews with 35 users of alternative media from a left-leaning, right-wing, Russian-tied and/or conspiracy spectrum users, uses of alternative media are pictured as grey rather than black or white. The findings illuminate the ambivalences within alternative media users as audiences and communities. Ambivalences are found regarding the use of alternative sources as audience or community members, regarding a shared attitude of criticality and anti-systemness, which connects trans-medially and trans-ideologically, as well as the experienced comfort of community, which can become a main motivation for use.

English

The systematic exclusion of the Igbos from key national leadership positions in Nigeria made the rise of secession-seeking groups and demand for self-government inevitable in the region. IPOB is one of these secession seeking groups which uses its radio station to communicate its agenda. Following its stirring rhetoric and extremist views, much has been heard of the place of radio Biafra in the ongoing IPOB agitation in the south east. Owing to radio’s ability to cultivate social and political realities in the minds of people, rhetoric of marginalization which forms the basis of radio Biafra’s broadcast may not leave people free from thinking of what is being communicated and what could be done to actualize the desired self-freedom which the station cultivates. Against this background, this study examined respondents’ level of exposure to radio Biafra’s broadcast, their perception of the broadcast messages and whether the messages persuade them into believing the course being preached from the station. The study was anchored on cultivation and social exchange theories with survey and FGD as research methods in studying 400 respondents purposively selected from 1,306,739 which forms the population of the study. Findings revealed that respondents believed in the mission but lacks the will-power to realize the dream. The study, therefore, recommended that radio Biafra content presenters should reconsider the messages they dish out to the people to avoid a repeat of the Rwandan episode in Nigeria. It was also recommended that government should look into these marginalization complaints from South-Eastern states.   Key words: IPOB, rhetoric, marginalization, social exchange theory, cultivate.

A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac by Zachery A. Fry

Reviewed by: A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac by Zachery A. Fry Joseph T. Glatthaar (bio) A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac. By Zachery A. Fry. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020. Pp. 336. Cloth, $45.00.) Until very recently, scholars embraced the idea that Union soldiers overwhelmingly endorsed Abraham Lincoln’s reelection bid in 1864. Soldiers despised the opposition Peace Democrats, applauded Lincoln’s unwavering support for victory, and embraced a belief that the confiscation or destruction of slavery and other Rebel property was both morally right and advantageous to the cause of reunion. In 2014, Jonathan W. White challenged that notion in Emancipation, the Union Army, and the Reelection of Abraham Lincoln. In it, White argues that Republican authorities suppressed Democratic opinions, persecuted those who openly opposed emancipation, and ultimately drove large numbers of Democrats into leaving the army when their term of enlistment expired in 1864, rather than reenlisting. White insists that 60 percent of the soldiers actually voted for Lincoln (20 percent were too young, and a few states prohibited soldiers voting in the field), and many of them were coerced. In A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac, Zachery A. Fry challenges White’s arguments. Fry attempts to develop the formation of political culture in the ranks of the Army of the Potomac by framing it with the theories of Mats Alvesson and Edgar Schein, business and management scholars whose work translates readily to the armed services. Although Fry draws on a range of sources, he relies principally on manuscripts, memoirs, and published materials of officers. Fry is particularly adept at tapping published letters by officers in dozens of local newspapers, a vastly underutilized source. [End Page 288] Fry’s thesis is that while high-ranking officers battled to shape the politics of the army, it was the junior officers, the lieutenants and captains, who converted enlisted men to the Republican cause. He explains how Major General George B. McClellan and his high-ranking associates tried to build support for the Democratic Party by preventing Republican and abolitionist newspapers and tracts from circulating in the army. When Major General Joseph Hooker, a regular army officer and Republican, took command in 1863, he blocked Democratic literature from the army and promoted the distribution of pro-administration material. Hooker’s successor, Major General George G. Meade, confessed a lack of expertise to determine what type of published literature came to the army. By then, Fry argues, the demand for pro-Democratic literature had declined owing to its increasingly strident antiwar position. This is unquestionably Fry’s strongest contribution. Fry agrees with White that there was some harassment of Democratic voters in the ranks in 1864, but he dismisses that as largely insignificant, arguing that there were also officers who made it explicitly clear that soldiers were free to vote their conscience without any repercussions in their units, and 20 percent of the troops did vote Democratic. Fry concedes that campfire discussions, experiences in war in the slave states, a need for more manpower, and the extremist views of Peace Democrats all helped convert the troops to Republicanism. What he underplays is the trust that soldiers developed in the Lincoln administration. By targeting slavery, authorizing the confiscation and destruction of goods and property of secessionists, providing essential manpower by enlisting Black men and imposing a draft, soldiers believed that the Lincoln administration would take any measures to aid them in winning the war. Fry also places too much emphasis on the role of junior officers in building Republican support among the ranks. Here his approach with regard to sources fails him. By relying heavily on officers and newspaper articles as sources, he does not capture the true sentiments of enlisted soldiers and strips them of their agency. Many soldiers expressed a surprising level of animosity toward their officers at all ranks, including their captains and lieutenants. Moreover, 53 percent of all soldiers in the Army of the Potomac at the time of Lincoln’s reelection had never been able to cast a vote...

МЕЖНАЦИОНАЛЬНЫЕ ОТНОШЕНИЯ В МОЛОДЕЖНОЙ СРЕДЕ КАБАРДИНО-БАЛКАРСКОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ

Kabardin-Balkaria remains one of the most difficult republics in terms of interethnic relations. Their aggravation may pose a real threat not only to Kabardin-Balkaria itself, but also to the peace and tranquility of the entire north Caucasus. A characteristic feature of the social and political life of modern Kabardin-Balkaria is the inextricable link between the ethno-confessional situation, youth activity and the problem of interethnic relations. Studying the ideas of young people about the state of interethnic relations, the characteristics and factors of their formation, about the reasons and ways of the spread of national extremism will make it possible to develop more effective strategies in the field of regulating interethnic relations that are adequate to the needs and interests of one of the most active groups of the population. This article uses the data of a sociological survey of youth in the KBR, conducted in October-November 2019 by the department of organization of work with youth of the Kabardin-Balkarian state university. The developed program and research tools make it possible to answer a number of questions about the state and prospects of the development of interethnic relations in the youth environment of the Kabardin-Balkarian Republic. Research data indicate that the majority of respondents blame the escalation of tensions in Kabardin-Balkaria on those political forces and organizations (national, extremist) that make political capital on the accentuation of intergroup differences and the exploitation of xenophobia. It should be emphasized that the respondents do not give unambiguous answers to many questions. A comparative analysis of these results does not allow us to identify a certain sequence and patterns in the nature of the spread of nationalist and religious extremist views among young people of various ethnic groups and places of residence. At the same time, the results of the survey illustrate the tendency of youth preferences for tolerant interaction of all ethnic groups of the republic.

Religion and State Are Twin Brothers: Classical Muslim Political Theory

The current reluctance for democratic transition in Muslim societies is mostly attributed to Islamic political theories that do not allow a separation between religion and politics. Extremist views often reject democracy because it is perceived to be anti-religion. This paper examines the thread of classical Islamic political theory that considers religion and state to be inseparable twin brothers. Exploring the origins of this thread in Sassanid and tenth century Islamic thought, analysis of the doctrine reveals that Muslim political thought more generally has traditionally been more pragmatic on political issues (siyasah), with Muslim jurists continuously marking boundaries between religion and culture in their fatawa, particularly concerning bid’ah (innovation) and tashabbuh bi’l kuffar (imitation of the infidels). Indeed, all definitions of religion that make it inseparable from the state are seen to be a modern phenomenon, in which religion is defined in terms of the ideology of political power, with secularism perceived as its rival. Analysing diverse interpretations of the doctrine from the Abbasid period to the twenty-first century, the paper finds that, like twin brothers, religion and politics are separate in Islam albeit united in their origin. This perspective becomes more meaningful in modern times if we recognise the role of social consensus (ijma’), besides the political and the religious spheres.

PROTOCOL: Multiagency programmes with police as a partner for reducing radicalisation to violence.

Violent radicalisation is a complex problem, complicated by the lack of a clear terrorist profile and variation in the risk factors that predict violent extremism across individuals and groups (Campelo, Oppetit, Neau, Cohen, & Bronsard, 2018; Carlsson et al., 2020; Desmarais, Simons‐Rudolph, Brugh, Schilling, & Hoggan, 2017; Wolfowicz, Litmanovitz, Weisburd, & Hasisi, 2019). While models of understanding radicalisation vary (Borum, 2015; Christmann, 2012; Desmarais et al., 2017; Horgan, 2008; Koehler, 2017; Kruglanski, Belanger, & Gunaratna, 2019; Sarma, 2017), it is broadly defined as the process by which a person adopts extremist views and moves towards committing a violent act (Irwin, 2015; Jensen, Atwell Seate, & James, 2018). Radicalisation has been linked with individual and group engagement in terrorist attacks against innocent civilians (Wilner & Dubouloz, 2010), as well as individuals entering conflict zones to join formal extremist groups to engage in violent combat (Lindekilde, Bertelsen, & Stohl, 2016). As a result, radicalisation has become a key focus for counterterrorism and violence prevention interventions. The complex and varied nature of individuals' progression from radicalisation to violence presents challenges for designing and evaluating appropriate interventions and policy responses (Hafez & Mullins, 2015; Helmus et al., 2017; Horgan & Braddock, 2010; Horgan, 2008; Jensen et al., 2018; Kruglanski et al., 2019). This level of complexity has driven national counterterrorism policy agendas to adopt intersectoral and multiagency responses that aim to address various radicalisation processes and risks (Beutel & Weinberger, 2016). These multiagency responses often involve partnerships and collaborations between various different agencies and entities (Hardy, 2018), such as governmental agencies, private businesses, community organisations and service providers.

Role of Teacher Education in Preparing Teachers for Teaching in Religious Schools of Balochistan

A large number of children in Balochistan attend religious schools (Madrasas) that have been criticized for spreading extremist views in the society. Teacher education institutions play a vital role in bringing cultural and religious harmony by producing prospective teachers who are able to cultivate tolerance, acceptance, patriotism, ethnic, religious respect and counter extremism, sectarian, and discrimination prospective. This qualitative exploratory study explores whether the prospective teachers in Balochistan are trained enough to teach in religious schools. The data were collected through in-depth interviews and focused group discussions. All teacher educators and prospective teachers from the universities that remained part of Pre-STEP or Teacher Education Project (TEP) assisted by USAID constituted the population of the study. Sample was selected through purposive sampling from two universities situated in Quetta. 10 teacher educators (5+5) and 10 prospective teachers (5+5) were selected as sample for interviews while two groups of prospective teachers (5 participants in each) were selected from the both case universities for focus group interviews. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings indicated that the prospective teachers and teacher educators considered the recent teacher education programs in Balochistan not enough to train teachers to teach in religious schools.
 Keywords: Prospective Teachers; Religious Schools; Teacher Education Programs; Balochistan

Keeping Out Extremists: Refugees, Would‐Be Immigrants, and Ideological Exclusion

AbstractMany people want to live in liberal democracies because they are liberal and democratic. Yet it would be mistaken, indeed naïve, to assume that this applies to all would‐be residents. Just as some inhabitants of liberal democracies oppose one or more fundamental liberal‐democratic values and principles (e.g. the rule of law, freedoms of conscience and speech, rights to private property and to political participation), so there are foreign would‐be residents who do so, who might include individuals with e.g. Jihadist, Neo‐Nazi, and radical anarchist views. Proceeding on the assumption that there exists no unconditional moral right to immigrate, this article asks whether it is ever morally permissible for liberal democracies to deny residence to nonnationals based on evidence that they personally hold extremist views. I argue that this is sometimes the case. Specifically, my contention is that even if we adopt a cosmopolitan perspective on which states are not allowed to prioritise the interests of their own citizens and residents over those of foreign nonresidents, there are two conditions under which such exclusions are justified even when refugees are being refused admission (although, as I suggest, states might be morally required in such cases to admit other refugees instead).

Speech and inquiry in public institutions of higher education: Navigating ethical and epistemological challenges

How should those who value reasonable pluralism navigate ethical and epistemological challenges related to speech and inquiry in higher education? We propose the ethical pursuit of public knowledge as a guiding vision for public colleges and universities with the understanding that other institutions will serve different purposes. The ethical criterion of mutuality calls for engagement across difference and reciprocal recognition of others’ basic equality and liberty. To maintain epistemic legitimacy, knowledge-production processes in these institutions should elevate ideas warranted by public reasons that have withstood rigorous critical scrutiny above those that have not. Some forms of speech—including the expression of extremist views on both the Right and the Left—will prove unreasonable and incompatible with the guiding vision and should therefore be marginalized (but not necessarily suppressed) within these institutions.