Leiden International Studies Blog

HOME CONTRIBUTORS ABOUT

Prof. dr. G.P.

Scott-Smith

Senior university

lecturer

What role should

universities play in society?
In politics?
 July 04, 2022 •  International Studies and  Leiden University •  3 min read

University Social Responsibility is a recent concept. We know

about Corporate Social Responsibility as an attempt to take

the hard edges off free market capitalism, but USR?

Initially supported by the EU, it proposes “universities should go

beyond the core functions of teaching, research, and service and
voluntarily act beyond legal requirements to promote the public good
and environmental sustainability” (Lo, Pang, Egri, & Li 2017).

In recent years this has led to the drafting of ‘benchmark standards’ for
assessing progress based on a set of criteria: research and teaching,
public engagement, governance, sustainability, and fair practices. This
is not only a way to inspire institutional reform (see the EU-USR project
at www.eu-usr.eu) but also to enable student empowerment as a
central part of the process (see the European Students Sustainability
Auditing project at www.essaproject.eu). After all, universities are not
simply academics and administrators. There is now a USR network
involving nineteen universities spread across the globe (none in the
Netherlands, two in the UK), but with the head office based at Hong
Kong Polytechnic and a strong Chinese presence it could be that the
network’s approach is no longer independent.

Much of what USR is about is local – strengthening the ties between the
university and the town/city where it is located. There are now several
projects running at Campus The Hague that unite Leiden University
with institutions and neighbourhoods across the city, bringing the
expertise and civic engagement of staff and students into contact with
those in the wider community. Our colleagues at Urban Studies are
naturally part of those initiatives and we also know of students from
our own International Studies community who have been involved in
local projects.

But there is, of course, a whole global dimension to this that needs
addressing as well. If universities want to promote ethical standards
and “improve the relevance of higher education in society” then issues
of relevance need to be addressed, be they local or global. USR doesn’t
end at the suburb’s edge. But how far does ‘social responsibility’ go if
one includes solidarity with the emancipatory causes of others, the
fights for democracy and against inequality and oppression? What is
USR in relation to Ukraine, or Xinjiang, or Palestine? Or ongoing
debates about the legacies of slavery? If Corporate Social Responsibility
is related to business activity everywhere, then USR is surely also an
ambition wider than simply the immediate neighbourhood?

This is where it would be good to engage with the intentions of USR to

clarify how (our) university, as a site not only of research and
education but also ethical standards, can reflect on its role as a global
actor. USR is not mentioned in the new University Strategic Plan, so
there is space here for some blue sky thinking.

In terms of sustainability, there have been strong moves to pressure

the University of Amsterdam to withdraw from fossil fuel-related
investments, led by the UvA Fossielvrij platform. Should this not be a
standard approach? What is the Leiden position on this initiative? “As
the BA International Studies (IS) focuses on identifying global and local
actors and tries to highlight the interconnected processes in this world,
 bringing more environmental topics to IS would provide an even
better understanding of dynamics in the current world.” This was
written by two of our own students in their report “A Demand for
Sustainability among Students” from March 2021, and they are right
(we have created our new Minor as a first step, and have Environment
and Society as a key theme when deciding on the choice of Thematic
Seminars).

And then ethics. We are now faced with the unprecedented

catastrophe of the Russian attack on Ukraine and there have been
many excellent grassroots initiatives to bring support and aid to those
suffering the consequences. But institutionally we are seeing a
patchwork of opinion, some programmes voicing the wish to cut off
connections with Russian universities, to the point of making Russian
students currently in Leiden unwelcome, while at the same time there
are initiatives to help students from the region who are affected by the
war, regardless of their nationality. On the other hand, there have been
instances of provocative behaviour in Leiden that has crossed the line
of academic freedom to advocate for the war. But there are many other
instances of long-running violence and oppression in the world that
also deserve attention. Academic freedom requires mutual respect
from all sides, and must not be reduced to an identity politics that
closes out participants simply because of where they come from. At
our International Studies meet-up on 2 March, one of our students
commented that it would be helpful to have some insight from the
university on where it stands on issues of concern such as this. Some
kind of an ethical code, or guidance. That student raised an important
issue. USR can be a means to address it. Let's begin the discussion.

     

International Studies at Social media

Leiden University
 
International Studies official website
International Studies study

programme

How to blog