My own experience lies at the heart of the case it addresses.
Please read the statement, and share it if you agree that academic freedom should not depend on the privilege of unrestricted movement.
#AcademicFreedom #RefugeeScholars #MSCA #ResearchPolicy
The result is exclusion by design—formal eligibility, practical impossibility. Please read the statement, and share it if you agree that academic freedom cannot depend on the privilege of unrestricted movement.
eisa-net.org/eisa-stateme...
EU asylum policy creates residence dependent protection: extended absence or permanent relocation risks loss of refugee status. However, EU research policy, particularly MSCA, demands mobility as a non-negotiable eligibility requirement.
The European International Studies has issued a statement on the systemic barriers that block refugee scholars from accessing EU research funding. My own experience sits at the centre of the case it discusses:
Statement of the International Studies Association Academic Freedom Committee on the Case of Dr. Reda Mahajar: Addressing Systemic Barriers for Refugee Scholars in Research Funding
@isanet.bsky.social
#academic
#AcademicCommunity
isanet.org/News/ID/6619
Statement of the International Studies Association Academic Freedom Committee on the Case of Dr. Reda Mahajar: Addressing Systemic Barriers for Refugee Scholars in Research Funding www.isanet.org/News/ID/6619
2) But to me, it was something else entirely. It felt like a document of release, a narrow bridge out of the uncertainty of one place and into the possibility of another. A ticket, yes—but more accurately, a fragile emblem of escape.
1) Seven years ago, this slender slip of card—an airline ticket issued by the Lebanese national carrier—bore a destination that shimmered with improbable promise: Brussels. To most, it might have been little more than a boarding pass, a mundane artefact of travel.
Catch the recording of the panel I joined in hosted by @populismstudies.bsky.social
I spoke on Syrian Sunni Jihadi Chickens Home to Roost: Assad’s Fatal Gamble in Iraq.
Join me for a talk on the politics of the Sunni–Shia divide in Iraq and Syria.
Join me for a talk on the politics of the Sunni–Shia divide in Iraq and Syria.
www.populismstudies.org/mapping-glob...
I fully support this initiative. Yet, I hope such generosity by European universities will extend to refugee researchers from the Global South, who face structural mobility injustices in EU funding and academia.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Here's a free link to a searchable database so you can see whether Meta and OpenAI trained its AI on your own books (or anyone else's!)
www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
This writing retreat is a much-needed oasis—dedicated time to think, write, and engage with others on the same journey. We should have more of these! Who else wishes this happened more often? ✨📷 #WritingRetreat #AcademicWriting
@europeanisa.bsky.social
2) The finale? A dictatorship with a legally stamped approval.
1) The New Syrian Constitution: A gripping political thriller where the plot is rigged, the villain writes the script, and democracy is the tragic character killed off in the first act. The President—a UN-designated terrorist—legislates, vetoes, and handpicks his own judges.
2) Then they came for the Druze, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Druze.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Thrilled to share that our session ‘Tackling Mobility Injustices for Scholars at Risk’—where I had the privilege to contribute—is now live! Join the conversation on structural inequalities and academic freedom in Europe. Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=beXlRi…"
I am pleased to share that the recorded session, “Tackling Mobility Injustices for Scholars at Risk,” to which I contributed, has been published. Watch it on the European International Studies Association’s YouTube channel
I still have a laptop from 2015, and, surprisingly, it’s running smoothly. It has survived the intellectual toil of both my MA and PhD theses—proof that resilience isn’t just a human trait.
In less than an hour
🚨 Happening today!
There is still time to register for this important event on mobility injustices in academia
Tacking Mobility Injustices: Building a Fairer Europe for At-risk Scholars. 12 February 2025, 16:30 CET. Zoom event. Across Europe, many scholars at risk face a myriad of mobility injustices that hinder their ability to secure stable academic positions, harness opportunities, and build fulfilling careers. Fragile refugee statuses, fears of stigma, and the overwhelming complexities of obtaining visas or legal documentation often force these indivisuals into precarious employment or limit their prospects entirely. Speakers: Vera Axyonova, Assistant Professor/Lecturer in European Politics, University of Birmingham; Reda Mahajar, Part-time Lecturer in Sociology, University of Antwerp; Asli Telli, Associate Researcher at the Global South Studies Center, Cologne University; Mohamed Bakhit, Postdoctoral Fellow at Phillipp Schwartz Initiative for Researchers at Risk.
⏰ Don't forget to register for our online event which takes place tomorrow, addressing mobility injustices for at-risk scholars...
🔗 https://buff.ly/3CKMMnc
Displacement, precarity, and exclusion: these define the reality for too many scholars. On 12 Feb 2025, 16:30 CET, I’ll be presenting at @europeanisa’s online event to address mobility injustices.
#EISAvoices
How can European academia dismantle its exclusionary structures? On 12 Feb 2025, 16:30 CET, I’ll speak at the European International Studies Association online event on mobility injustices for at-risk scholars. Be part of the conversation! #ScholarsAtRisk #InclusiveAcademia
acking Mobility Injustices: Building a Fairer Europe for At-risk Scholars. 12 February 2025, 16:30 CET. Zoom event. Across Europe, many scholars at risk face a myriad of mobility injustices that hinder their ability to secure stable academic positions, harness opportunities, and build fulfilling careers. Fragile refugee statuses, fears of stigma, and the overwhelming complexities of obtaining visas or legal documentation often force these indivisuals into precarious employment or limit their prospects entirely. Speakers: Vera Axyonova, Assistant Professor/Lecturer in European Politics, University of Birmingham; Reda Mahajar, Part-time Lecturer in Sociology, University of Antwerp; Asli Telli, Associate Researcher at the Global South Studies Center, Cologne University; Mohamed Bakhit, Postdoctoral Fellow at Phillipp Schwartz Initiative for Researchers at Risk.
🗓️ Our next online event will focus on mobility injustices for at-risk scholars, join us on 12 February at 16:30 CET!
🔗 Register here: https://buff.ly/4hofyt5
