Shared Risk and Institutional Alignment in the Global Structure of Scholarly Collaboration

• In Event: Science, Knowledge, and Technology Open Call Paper Session (Co-Sponsored by Global and Transnational Sociology Section)

Abstract

International scientific collaboration introduces a wide set of risks and benefits to the
research process. Recent research has shown that varying levels of academic freedom can
introduce risks to collaboration that go beyond concerns endogenous to the research process.
However, we argue that academic freedom is not a singular concept and contains both
individual-level and institutional-level dimensions. We test the extent to which shared
individual-level academic freedoms (freedom to research and teach, freedom of academic and
cultural expression, freedom of academic exchange) and institutional-level academic freedoms
(institutional autonomy, campus integrity) shape collaboration between scientists. Our results
paint a more nuanced picture than previous work would suggest. Differences in individual level
freedoms tend to more reliably reduce collaboration than institutional level freedoms. Moreover,
differences in the level of scholarly governmental criticism reduce international collaboration.
We suggest that scholars choose partners that lower risks and maximize benefits regarding their
personal security and career, while more abstract notions of academic freedom, often at the
institutional level, are less important for collaborative choice.

Authors

• Ke Minh Lam, North Carolina State University

• Andrew P. Davis, North Carolina State University