En las últimas semanas ha habido mucho debate sobre la relación entre académicos e instituciones académicas con el gobierno de Gaddafi. De un lado, están quienes denuncian que académicos e instituciones se prestaron a una maniobra de "limpieza de imagen" de una dictadura brutal, ya sea por ingenuidad ("tontos útiles") o condicionados por sus "generosas" contribuciones económicas, estrategia implementada por Saif al-Gaddafi (hijo de Muammar al-Gaddafi), estudiante del
London School of Economics. En este esquema habrían participado el
LSE, Anthony Giddens, David Held, Benjamin Barber, Joseph Nye, Robert Putnam y muchos otros reputados politólogos (se denuncia también que la tesis doctoral de Saif al-Gaddafi habría caído en la práctica del plagio, que habría sido pasado por alto por sus examinadores).
http://roarmagazine.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/gaddafi-held-desai-lse-plagiarism-phd/http://es.scribd.com/doc/49315517/Saif-Gaddafi-s-PHD-thesishttp://saifalislamgaddafithesis.wikia.com/wiki/PlagiarismEn la posición contraria están quienes señalan que los financiamientos fueron negociados de una manera en la que no se afectaba la autonomía del trabajo académico; y que había que ser "realista" y, sin respaldar al régimen, buscar aproximaciones con Gaddafi para impulsar procesos de apertura y democratización, pese a los riesgos existentes. Debate fascinante, en el que participan también desde posiciones críticas John Keane, Richard Sennett, y muy pertinente para todos nosotros. ¿Cuáles deben ser los estándares de relación entre el trabajo académico y de investigación con las fuentes de financiamiento? ¿Qué tipo de relación profesional se puede establecer con regímenes autoritarios y otros actores moralmente censurables? ¿Cuáles son los límites? ¿Cuáles deben ser las bases de la ética profesional de un politólogo? Ver al respecto:
Gaddafi's son 'will be in turmoil' says LSE professor who acted as adviser
London School of Economics' David Held remembers young man with deep commitment to liberal reform
Amelia Hill
Monday 21 February 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/21/saif-al-islam-gaddafi-turmoilLSE and Libya
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/news/archives/2011/02/libya_funding.aspxLSE North Africa Programme
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/news/archives/2011/02/Activities%20of%20the%20North%20Africa%20Programme%20v2.docLibya: A Personal Statement from David Held
http://www.thetravelingscholar.com/2011/03/lse-in-the-news/También en:
http://roarmagazine.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/david-held-gaddafi-libya-global-governanc/Anthony Giddens' trip to see Gaddafi vetted by Libyan intelligence chief
Leaked documents also reveal that US firm Monitor Group organised meetings between Gaddafi and former LSE director
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/04/lse-libya-anthony-giddens-gaddafi?CMP=twt_fdFEBRUARY 26, 2011
With Libya's Megalomaniac 'Philosopher-King'
In a tent in the desert, Gadhafi explained why he could never tolerate any challenge to his supreme will
By ROBERT D. PUTNAM
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703408604576164363053350664.htmlThe Qaddafi family didn’t lack for Western allies.
Martin Peretz
March 1, 2011
http://www.tnr.com/article/tel-aviv-journal/84370/libya-saif-qaddafi-western-allies?page=1http://www.tnr.com/article/tel-aviv-journal/84370/libya-saif-qaddafi-western-allies?page=1,1The Monitor Group: Gaddafi's PR firm used academics
Ethical problems arise when the distinction between lobbying and academia becomes blurred
Ed Pilkington in New York
Friday 4 March 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/04/the-monitor-group-gadaffi-prProfessors Paid by Qaddafi: Providing 'Positive Public Relations'
Jon Wiener
The Nation, March 5, 2011
http://www.thenation.com/blog/159046/professors-paid-qaddafi-providing-positive-public-relationsLSE professor was forced to quit Saif Gaddafi foundation
PhD tutor joined board after Libyan leader's son gave £1.5m donation to university
Jamie Doward
The Observer, Sunday 6 March 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/06/london-school-of-economics-saif-gaddafiUniversities need your Titians
The LSE is not unique. Unless rich UK sponsors help, British universities will continue to be prey to dodgy donors
Richard Sennett
Sunday 6 March 2011
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/06/universities-titian-lse-dodgy-donorsUnderstanding Libya's Michael Corleone
The international community saw Muammar's Western-educated, reform-minded son as the best hope for a freer, more democratic Libya. Did they get him wrong?
INTERVIEW BY BENJAMIN PAUKER MARCH 7, 2011
As a longtime advisor to Saif al-Qaddafi, Benjamin Barber knows him just about as well as any Western intellectual. Barber -- president of the CivWorld think tank, distinguished senior fellow at the Demos think tank, and author of
Strong Democracy and
Jihad vs. McWorld -- was among a small group of democracy advocates and public intellectuals, including Joseph Nye, Anthony Giddens, Francis Fukuyama, and Robert Putnam, working under contract with the Monitor Group consulting firm to interact with Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi on issues of democracy and civil society and to help his son Saif implement democratic reforms and author a more representative constitution for Libya. It's all gone horribly wrong. But in this interview, Barber argues that his intentions were responsible, tries to understand Saif's remarkable about-face, and worries for the future of Libya and the young man he knew well.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/07/understanding_libyas_michael_corleone?page=fullJoseph Nye Responds to Criticism of His TNR Article on Qaddafi
March 10, 2011
http://www.tnr.com/article/85011/joseph-nye-qaddafi-libya-tnrDealing with Saif Gaddafi: naivety, complicity or cautious engagement?
David Held, 16 March 2011
How should the London School of Economics have handled its Libyan connections? Fred Halliday strongly opposed engagement, while David Held, Co-Director of LSE Global Governance, has been a major supporter. Is this shown to have been naïve or complicit? No - a risk worth taking, argues the author
http://www.opendemocracy.net/david-held/dealing-with-saif-gaddafi-naivety-complicity-or-cautious-engagementLibya, intellectuals and democracy: an open letter to Professor David Held
John Keane, 18 March 2011
John Keane asks David Held to look back over events and reconsider his reactions to a dissimulator. Was this an error of theory or of practice? Hasn’t the LSE Libya affair done damage to the scholarly credibility of research programmes in the area of democracy?
http://www.opendemocracy.net/john-keane/libya-intellectuals-and-democracy-open-letter-to-professor-david-heldVer también:
John Keane
http://johnkeane.net/David Held
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/researchAndExpertise/Experts/d.held@lse.ac.ukLa foto es tomada de una protesta de estudiantes de LSE. Ver al respecto:
http://roarmagazine.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/statement-by-lse-students-in-anti-gaddafi-occupation/http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/politics/lse-occupation/