The impact of economic sanctions on higher education

Several African countries are currently subjected to international sanctions, which, according to a recent report, negatively affect academic research and higher education – even after they are formally lifted.

A journal article in PLOS One, published last month, identifies key areas of Sudanese academic research and education that have been impacted by international sanctions. According to the report, sanctions “place ‘invisible barriers’ for research in these countries by limiting access to necessary resources and curtailing their effective use”.

Speaking to University World News, Louise Bezuidenhout, lead author of the study, said: “The comprehensive sanctions imposed on Sudan affected many areas of academic and educational activity. These included being eligible for grants, purchasing research equipment and ICT hardware and software, importing reagents and chemicals, and academic travel.”

She said sanctions had the additional impact of isolating Sudanese academics, leading to outside organisations preferring not to engage with them in collaborations or publishing articles.

“Despite the sanctions against educational and academic activity being lifted years before the national sanctions, these barriers continued to complicate life for Sudanese academics due to the slow rate at which commercial, academic or national organisations updated their transactional guidelines,” Bezuidenhout said.

This observation is supported by a 2015 article published in the Journal of Georgetown University-Qatar, on the efficacy of United States sanctions on Sudan, which finds that the country’s domestic universities are still feeling the effects of US sanctions which, in addition to curtailing research and knowledge generation, have led to educated individuals leaving the country.

A report published in October by policy advocacy group, The Sentry, indicates that there are currently 25 active US, European Union (EU) or United Nations (UN) sanctions imposed on 11 African countries, including the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Eritrea, Guinea and Zimbabwe.

Abdinasir Yusuf Osman, a senior Somali lecturer in the faculty of veterinary medicine at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, told University World News that African nations, including Somalia, that are subjected to sanctions are “entirely paralysed” when it comes to academia and the higher education sector.

“These sanctions could slow African economic integration through minimising academic cooperation and hindering higher education and professional labour mobility among the three largest regional economic groupings – the Southern African Development Community [SADC], the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the East African Community,” said Osman, who is also the president of Somali Veterinary Medical Association.

“Sanctions would also hamper the implementation of Africa’s higher education harmonisation strategy, which is part of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”

Role of universities

Asked how African universities could deal with sanctions, Bezuidenhout said the impact of sanctions on academia, and their long-term impact on building sustainable and robust academic systems, is rarely discussed.

“A key role for African universities would be to raise these concerns within international meetings, networks and forums,” she said.

“These institutions are also – through South-South collaborations – able to gather evidence about what is happening on the ground within academic institutions in these countries. Building up a bigger evidence base of the impact of sanctions (as we are currently doing with our follow-on work) is vital for developing appropriate policies and extending our discussion on post-conflict development.”

To minimise the impact of sanctions on academic and education research in Africa, John Akec, vice-chancellor of the University of Juba in South Sudan, told University World News the UN, US and EU should – in addition to removing blanket restrictions on the export of non-lethal goods and services to South Sudan – stop restrictions on internet access to educational and scientific knowledge and research publications.

Furthermore, they should not deprive public universities of funding in the form of development assistance, he said.

“Besides campaigning against sanctions that impact education and research work at universities, African governments, South Sudan included, should inform citizens of the impact of sanctions on their welfare and professional activities along with advice on ways and means of circumventing the negative impacts of sanctions,” Akec said.

Magdi Tawfik Abdelhamid, a biotechnology professor at Cairo’s National Research Centre in Egypt, said: “African academics could use the power of technology and social media to help create more fluidity and mobilisation among their researchers locally and abroad.”

He also said: “African universities suffering from US and EU sanctions could pursue academic and scientific cooperation with Russia, Latin America, as well as parts of the Middle East and Asia, including India, China, Japan, Turkey and South Korea."

"These countries are reaching out to build partnerships with African universities as part of a broader strategy of higher education diplomacy or ‘soft power’ aimed at building regional alliances and partnerships to benefit Africa along with serving the country’s cultural and economic agendas,” Abdelhamid pointed out.

Targeted sanctions

The report by The Sentry suggests that sanctions, often levied to address armed conflict, corruption and human rights abuses in Africa, can be effective if they are designed, implemented and enforced thoughtfully and with transparency.

The report recommends the use of targeted sanctions, a practice that involves blacklisting the primary target as well as individuals and entities that are acting on behalf of or providing support for the target.

“Sanctions, which are some forms of economic and political restrictions, must be designed in a focused way and with clear guidelines so that they do not impact negatively on people and developmental organisations such as universities and research centres,” Nyasha Kaseke, an economist in the faculty of commerce at the University of Zimbabwe, told University World News.

In a statement issued on 25 October – the day declared by the 2019 SADC summit as a day of regional solidarity against the sanctions on Zimbabwe – SADC Executive Secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax said sanctions on Zimbabwe have “far-reaching social, economic and financial implications, which not only affect Zimbabwe’s economy and Zimbabweans, but also affect the region at large”.

“Regardless of the terms used to define the sanctions, international finance and investment entities take a pre-cautionary approach, and inadvertently restrict the extension of financial support … and investment across economic sectors. This situation negatively affects the prospects for economic recovery,” he said.

Post-sanctions

The PLOS One report argues that countries that have imposed sanctions – as an alternative to armed conflict – also have a responsibility to assist in post-conflict development.

“We would suggest that such issues could be investigated from a regulatory perspective. However, assigning regulations to such activities would be extremely difficult and is not likely to be the best approach,” said Bezuidenhout.

“Raising awareness and commitment to development and community-building are likely to be more profitable approaches.”

Given their dubious efficacy, avoiding sanctions in the first place may be an even better approach.

Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, professor in global thought and comparative philosophies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, said: “In my opinion any sanctions against academic institutions in Africa are regrettable and self-defeating. Sanctions are a poor substitute for diplomacy; ultimately, scholars have long demonstrated that they don’t work.”