This workshop will critically explore the interrelations of democratic structures and scientific growth and excellence in the past and – particularly – present.

It is inspired by classic works in the sociology of science, such as those by Robert K. Merton who was deeply convinced that science could only thrive in democratic societies, since only they would be able to uphold the ethos of modern science—universalism, communism, disinterestedness, and organized skepticism. Looking at current socio-political developments around the world and the structural changes in the global science system today, however, we ask whether a reaffirmation, revision, or final rejection of Merton’s hypothesis is warranted.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, half of the world’s countries are labelled as non-democracies. Science, scholarship, and mass higher education are important societal institutions also in autocracies, as cases such as Iran, and Russia illustrate. Some authoritarian regimes, most significantly in the People’s Republic of China, and also Singapore, which choose a technocratic approach to science policy and targeted investments, are able to produce world-class research and universities. Saudi-Arabia’s leadership aspire to follow in their footsteps and to become a leading player in the global system of science. Do these developments not require a fundamentally different conceptualization of the scientific ethos and of academia’s interrelations with different types of polities in the twenty-first century?

Workshop participants will together revisit established hypotheses about the interactions between science and scholarship and their democratic and authoritarian social contexts. Submitted contributions range from in-depth historical and contemporary case studies, to comparative analyses, and theoretical reflections. The outcomes of the workshop will be published as a special issue of a scientific journal and (or) an edited volume.