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Palestine: 300 academics call for halt to EU research funding that violates international law

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07 February 2024

Almost 300 academics from universities across Europe and beyond have called for the EU to stop funding research projects "that may, directly or indirectly, violate international law and human rights," in particular with regard to substantial research funding the EU provides to institutions in Israel.

Former EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini meets Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2015. Image: European External Action Service, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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The full-text of the letter is reproduced below; it remains open for further signatures, for an updated list see here

"Since the 7th of October 2023, following horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups, Israel has commenced a full-scale assault on the Gaza Strip and heightened its military campaign in the West Bank," says the letter, before going on to recount the death and destruction wrought on Gaza in the last four months.

It notes the substantial cooperation between the EU and Israel in scientific research, and says the EU provided €1.28 billion to Israeli companies and institutions between 2014 and 2020; while as of January this year "there are 594 partnerships with Israeli organizations, to which the EU Commission’s net contribution is approximately 480 million Euros."

While "not problematic in themselves," the letter says, many of these collaborations pose "a heightened risk of dual-use and misuse of research outputs, i.e. using the technology (or at least the know-how) developed in the EU-funded projects for military or other purposes in breach of human rights, international law or ethical values."

The letter cites EU funding for companies such as Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries - both of whom have received EU research funding and are currently contractors for drone surveillance in the Mediterranean.

In academic and EU institutions, procedures for detecting and preventing ethical problems have numerous shortcomings, the letter argues - what is required, argue the academics, are structural changes.

The letter calls on the EU to take "concrete actions (including preventive actions) regarding allowing, funding, performing, participating in, or contributing to research collaborations that may, directly or indirectly, violate international law and human rights."

Ethics and human rights screening procedures should "not be delegated to individual funding bodies or partners, against the risk of dual-use or misuses in (or as a result of) research collaborations," and the EU's research rules should be revised to "establish effective reporting channels and protect whistleblowers."

The academics also make demands of universities and other research institutions - "decisions by ethics and human rights bodies" should be "binding and not reliant on individual researchers or even individual researcher centers who may not have genuine decision-making power."

They should also prevent or "interrupt on-going collaborations with entities that could possibly (and even indirectly) be involved in human rights or international law violations or which run the risk of dual-use or misuse."

The call for changes to EU and university rules to prevent involvement with legal violations and human rights abuses comes at a time when the European Commission is actively planning to increase (pdf) "support for enhancing R&D involving technologies with dual-use potential that can help develop state-of-the-art defence capabilities in the EU."

Those proposals have been put forward as part of a plan to increase the EU's "Strategic Autonomy and Economic and Research Security."

It remains to be seen what precise proposals will be adopted, and whether the demands of the letter will be put into practice.

The authors note that "it is of utmost importance to avoid any double standards in the treatment of, for example, Israel and Russia, considering the EU-wide principled stance upon Russia’s invasion of Ukraine"

The letter closes by stating that "we must live up to the standards of our past commitments. That genocide shall ‘never again’ take place is a commitment that cannot be made several times."

 

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Open Letter

The EU and Academic Institutions to Halt Collaborative Research Due to the Risks of Dual Use, Misuse, and Violations of Human Rights and International Law 

We, as academics, urge the EU and European academic institutions to uphold their moral and legal obligations and take immediate action to address the serious risks of dual-use and misuse of research projects and to halt funding collaborations with organizations that are known or suspected accomplices in the Israeli or other (alleged) human rights and international law violations, including war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide. 

The situation in Palestine 

Since the 7^th of October 2023, following horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups, Israel has commenced a full-scale assault on the Gaza Strip and heightened its military campaign in the West Bank. The number of casualties, injuries, and missing people and the scale of destruction in Palestinian territories, primarily in Gaza but also in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) have reached unprecedented levels. The death toll is expected to significantly rise, because of the cutting of supplies (such as power, water, food, and medicines), the vast destruction of buildings – including hospitals, schools,  universities, and places of worship - by Israel, the impossibility for the population to leave the besieged enclave, the forced starvation as a method of war and the serious risk of wide-spread diseases. Importantly, there has been little information on what is happening in Gaza, due to Israel cutting communications for days at a time, barring external journalists as well as fact-checker and investigative organizations from entering Gaza and killing journalists in unprecedented numbers.  

International organizations and prominent human rights experts (e.g. here, here, and here), including the UN, have called for preventive action against the serious risks of genocide in Gaza, while many argue genocide is already taking place. Upon the institution of proceedings before the International Court of Justice by the Republic of South Africa against the State of Israel for the alleged violations of obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the Court, on its order dated 26 January 2023, has found the claims on genocidal acts perpetrated by Israel plausible and confirmed a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to Palestinians (the Court will state at a later stage, on the merits, whether genocide is taking place). The Court urged Israel to take a wide range of provisional measures. 

Scientific collaborations between Europe and Israel 

Israel has been involved in the EU’s research and innovation programmes since 1996. From 2014 to 2020, Israeli organizations, including military companies and institutions, were involved 2105 times and received 1,28 billion Euros from the EU. As of 8 January 2024, there are 594 partnerships with Israeli organizations, to which the EU Commission’s net contribution is approximately 480 million Euros. 

These figures are not problematic in themselves. However, there is a heightened risk of dual-use and misuse of research outputs, i.e. using the technology (or at least the know-how) developed in the EU-funded projects for military or other purposes in breach of human rights, international law or ethical values. For example, Elbit Systems, one of the most important military technology providers of the Israeli army (including current assaults on Gaza) for a long time, was involved in numerous EU-funded projects under the Horizon 2020 Framework. Similarly, the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), a major Israeli state-owned manufacturer of defense and aerospace sectors, which publicizes their involvement in Israeli military operations since October 7, are involved in numerous projects in the ongoing Horizon Europe Framework. Non-Israeli organizations may also raise risks of dual-use, misuse and violations of human rights and international law, as crystalized in the acquisition of the leading Greek military tech provider Intracom Defense by the IAI, after important collaborations between the two.  

The lines between the high-tech sector, the European research and innovation funding programmes, and the Israeli arsenal are easily blurred. Examples include the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the destruction and killing of innocents in Gaza, confirmed close connections with the Israeli army, intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and the use of Palestine as a test bed for weaponry and surveillance technologies both to export them worldwide and to create an automated apartheid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Furthermore, other organizations may also be directly or indirectly involved in violations of human rights and international law. Several Israeli universities, such as the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), have, among others, enabled apartheid, occupation and discrimination against Palestinians for a long time and played a role in the crackdown of dissent since the 7^th of October. Besides, European universities often conclude contracts with tech companies such as HP, which has also been accused of providing technology for Israeli control over the Palestinian people. 

Shortcomings of current ethics and human rights screening procedures 

When they exist, ethics and human rights procedures set up to screen research collaborations are mainly deployed by universities on a project-by-project basis pursuant to internal ethics and human rights commitments. These procedures are highly time and resource intensive and primarily reliant on the concerns raised by individual researchers and the availability of information on project partners and their potential involvement with ‘problematic’ acts or actors (such as the Israeli military or their collaborators). Finding information on whether and how a given potential research partner may raise ethical or human rights concerns can be very challenging. Atrocities are dynamically unfolding daily, making it almost impossible to determine all individual responsibilities. For example, albeit a good-willing research partner at first glance, doctors of an Israeli hospital have reportedly openly called for the destruction of all the hospitals in Gaza. Importantly, Israel has been deploying resources to prevent journalists and independent observers from documenting the situation in Gaza, while social media platforms are accused of silencing information in order to shape public opinion with a one-sided narrative of the course of events. The International Court of Justice took specific measures against Israel to prevent the destruction of evidence of the plausible genocide unfolding in Gaza. 

Additionally, these ethics and human rights procedures have commonly an advisory role without any authority over the final decision of establishing research collaborations. Besides, the end-result of such screening is rarely the abandonment of a project but rather, at best, the imposition of safeguards surrounding the research stage of the project, which in no way affect what happens after the project ends, and how the research outcomes of a certain project are or can be deployed. If the partner (i.e. university) that raised the concern steps down, the potentially questionable research is left essentially unaffected. In other words, the research will still be conducted, likely by another partner, unless wide scale changes take place at an EU level. 

The functioning of such ethics and human rights screening systems procedures shall further be understood within the context of competition for funding, with the ensuing risk of racing to the bottom. Stopping ongoing collaborations due to ethically problematic developments (such as those in Gaza) is theoretically possible, but it is very difficult given universities’ need to keep good relationships with their networks and their reliance on project funding to pay researchers’ wages. Concerns about projects and the ethically questionable development of know-how in collaboration with Israeli partners have been raised in the past, too, but reactions to them failed to reflect the overarching institutional responsibility, considering them as isolated instances, and have been overall deemed insufficient.   

Proposal for moving forward: Inferring a positive duty to act 

Against this background, we, as academics working in universities committed to human rights and ethical values, believe that academia in Europe and beyond cannot continue business-as-usual collaborations with Israeli and non-Israeli partners, when such partners are directly or indirectly complicit in these crimes. Two lines of arguments have been raised so far to keep business-as-usual, namely that it would be a matter of politics so academic institutions should avoid ‘taking side’ or that the ethics and human rights screening procedures in place within universities satisfactorily frame the ways in which research collaborations are conducted. However, funding research collaborations is also a matter of politics and most importantly of upholding the most basic human rights, while as demonstrated the screening procedures in place are largely unable to address the magnitude and urgency of ongoing violations. Finally, as also strongly voiced especially by the Global South, it is of utmost importance to avoid any double standards in the treatment of, for example, Israel and Russia, considering the EU-wide principled stance upon Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – which is also subject to ICJ scrutiny, entailing provisional measures under the Genocide Convention. We should condemn injustice wherever it takes place by whomever it is initiated. 

Under international law, States must take preventive and precautionary action to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and to prevent genocide. Under EU law, the EU institutions and member States must respect fundamental rights and promote the application thereof, control the export of dual-use items and know-how, and apply the precautionary principle, also in cases of risks to human rights, to base legal or policy decisions where a potential risk of dangerous effects cannot be demonstrated or quantified with sufficient certainty due to the unavailability of (i.e. scientific) data. Furthermore, research funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe programme must comply with EU, national and international law including fundamental rights instruments as well as ethical principles. In light of the above, we urge all relevant stakeholders, but particularly the EU and academic institutions involved in collaborations with known or suspected risky partners, to take substantial and immediate action to uphold their moral and legal obligations and address these risks wherever they take place, within or outside Europe. Accordingly, universities have already started to halt collaborations with Israeli partners. While the events unfolding in Palestine shall act as a wake-up call, ethics and human rights concerns are obviously not limited to Palestine, necessitating structural change. 

More precisely, 

The EU, as a major funding body and primary policymaker in research and innovation, should: 

• Set consistent EU-wide policies and take concrete actions (including preventive actions) regarding allowing, funding, performing, participating in, or contributing to research collaborations that may, directly or indirectly, violate international law and human rights. 
• Carry out streamlined, strict and transparent ethics and human rights screenings of research collaborations in line with the Horizon Europe Regulation, given the seriousness of the issues raised should thus not be delegated to individual funding bodies or partners, against the risk of dual-use or misuses in (or as a result of) research collaborations. 
• Revise the Horizon Europe Regulation and related guidelines (i.a.  Research with an exclusive focus on civil applications and Potential misuse of research) to address the risks highlighted as well as establish effective reporting channels and protect whistleblowers. 

The universities, as performers of research and direct collaborators in research projects, should: 

• Ensure the effective scrutiny of research collaborations and partners, including by rendering decisions by ethics and human rights bodies binding and not reliant on individual researchers or even individual researcher centers who may not have genuine decision-making power.  
• Draw inspiration from the preventive and precautionary duties born by the EU and States and either abstain, based on clearly and transparently set policies, from entering into, or interrupt on-going collaborations with entities that could possibly (and even indirectly) be involved in human rights or international law violations or which run the risk of dual-use or misuse. This could be done temporarily, for example, until violations have ceased to take place. The temporary nature of the measures can constitute a means to balance the need – and actual commitment – to protect human rights and the duty to preserve the freedom of science.  

Finally, we must live up to the standards of our past commitments. That genocide shall ‘never again’ take place is a commitment that cannot be made several times. 

SIGNATORIES

First signatories; for the continuously updated list see here. Please kindly fill in this form if you would like to sign the letter. For any communications, please kindly reach out to open.letter.eu.research@gmail.com

1. Halid Kayhan, Researcher, KU Leuven 
2. Charlotte Ducuing, Doctoral Researcher, KU Leuven 
3. Plixavra Vogiatzoglou, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Amsterdam; Affiliated Senior researcher, KU Leuven
4. Laurens Naudts, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Amsterdam; Affiliated Senior Researcher, KU Leuven 
5. Maja Nisevic, Postdoctoral Researcher, KU Leuven 
6. Elisabetta Biasin, Doctoral Researcher, KU Leuven 
7. Flavia Giglio, Researcher, KU Leuven 
8. Abdullah Elbi, Researcher, KU Leuven 
9. Cesar Fontanillo Lope, Doctoral candidate, KU Leuven
10. Elisabeth Daem, Assistant KU Leuven, Lawyer (Brussels)
11. Eyup Kun, Doctoral researcher, KU Leuven
12. Anastasia Karagianni, Doctoral researcher, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
13. Elisa Leila Elhadj, Doctoral researcher, KU Leuven
14. Anissa Bougrea, PhD researcher, Ghent University
15. Diletta Huyskes, PhD researcher, University of Milan
16. Matthias Lievens, Assistant Professor, KU Leuven Institute of Philosophy
17. Soraya El Kahlaoui, Postdoctoral researcher, Ghent University
18. Koen Bogaert, Associate Professor, Ghent University Department of Conflict and Development Studies
19. Sarah Bracke, Professor of Sociology of Gender and Sexuality, University of Amsterdam
20. Giulietta Zanga, PhD candidate, University of Milan
21. Anissa Pelouto, PhD candidate and medical doctor, Erasmus Medical Center
22. Marta Musidlowska, Legal researcher, KU Leuven,
23. Paola Rivetti, Associate Professor, Dubiln City University
24. Charis Papaevangelou, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Amsterdam
25. Michiel Bot, Associate Professor, Tilburg University, Department of Conflict and Development Studies
26. Sruti Bala, Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam
27. Zara Sharif, Senior Lecturer, Erasmus University College, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Economics
28. Sara Garsia, Research associate, KU Leuven 
29. Sander Vogt, Assistant, KU Leuven
30. Laura Dolazza, PhD candidate, University of Trento
31. Mary Ann Manahan, Academic Assistant, Ghent University
32. Elisa Giunchi, Professor, Università degli studi di Milano
33. W. Schinkel, Professor of Social Theory, Erasmus University Rotterdam  
34. Jan Orbie, Professor, Ghent University
35. Tareq Abdel Alim, Researcher, Erasmus Medical Center
36. Aliki Tzouvara,  PhD Researcher, KU Leuven
37. Špela Lemež, PhD student, KU Leuven
38. Alessandra Spadaro, Assistant Professor of Public International Law, Utrecht University
39. Tarun Kattumana, Doctoral Researcher, KU Leuven         
40. Gert Van Hecken, Associate Professor, University of Antwerp
41. Mücahit Aygün, PhD candidate, University of Amsterdam            
42. Lena Imeraj, Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel              
43. Zeynep Akcaoglu, PhD researcher, KU Leuven   
44. Cecilia Vergnano, Postdoctoral researcher, KU Leuven   
45. Tomaso Ferrando, Research Professor, University of Antwerp    
46. Valerie De Craene, Postdoctoral researcher, Vrije Universiteit Brussel Cosmopolis            
47. Laura M. De Vos, Assistant Professor, Radboud University           
48. Lander Govaerts, PhD Candidate, Vrije Universiteit Brussel          
49. Carlotta Sciolo, Lecturer, EUR
50. Francesca Biancani, Associate Professor,              University of Bologna
51. Khalda El Jack, PhD Research, ICP Coordinator, KU Leuven Department of Architecture   
52. Sarah Murru, Assistant Professor, KU Leuven     
53. Karel Arnaut, Associate Professor, KU Leuven    
54. Sami Zemni, Professor, Ghent University             
55. Nele Aernouts, Assistant professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel      
56. Matthias De Groof, Professor, Uantwerpen; Researcher, University of Amsterdam
57. Luce Beeckmans, Professor Architecture and Urbanism, KU Leuven         
58. Elena Burgos Martinez, Assistant Professor, Leiden University
59. Mirjam Twigt, Postdoctoral Researcher, Leiden University           
60. Brunilda Pali, Senior Researcher, KU Leuven       
61. Daniela Pioppi, Associate professor, University of Naples 'L'Orientale'
62. Rikus van Eeden, Doctoral researcher, KU Leuven
63. Lotika Singha, Writer, member (and on behalf) of the International Solidarity with Academic Freedom in India (InSAF India)
64. Begum Sari, Master student, TU Delft
65. Wissal Abanaissa, Student, KU Leuven
66. Roschanack Shaery-Yazdi, Professor of history, University of Antwerp    
67. Christian Henderson, Assistant professor, Leiden University        
68. Houda Lamqaddam, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam
69. Jessica Fiorelli, PhD Candidate, UHasselt
70. Vjosa Musliu , Professor , Vrije Universiteit Brussel          
71. Julian Prieto, PhD student, KU Leuven   
72. Irene van Oorschot, Assistant professor, Erasmus University Rotterdam
73. Claire Tio, PhD researcher, Erasmus University Rotterdam           
74. Nicola Perugini, Senior lecturer in international relations, University of Edinburgh             
75. Massilia Ourabah, PhD Researcher, UGent         
76. Evrim Tan, Postdoctoral researcher, KU Leuven
77. Petra Van Brabandt, Head of Research, Sint Lucas Antwerpen - School of Arts KdG           
78. Yolande Jansen , Professor, Free University Amsterdam; Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam 
79. Nadia Fadil, Professor, KU Leuven           
80. Giulia Re Ferrè, PhD candidate, University of Milan
81. Nawal Mustafa, Postdoctoral researcher, Vrije University
82. Riccardo Labianco, Post-Doc Research Associate, Center for Human Rights Law at SOAS, University of London 
83. Naomi Appelman, Doctoral Researcher, University of Amsterdam
84. Erik Paredis, Associate professor, Centre for Sustainable Development, Ghent University
85. Annelys de Vet, PhD Researcher,  ARIA University of Antwerp, Sint Lucas School of Arts
86. Bianca Baldi, Researcher, Sint Lucas Antwerpen; ARIA Antwerpen            
87. Andrea Reyes Elizondo, Researcher & PhD candidate, Leiden University
88. Loos Ruth, Postdoctoral researcher, St Lucas School of Arts Antwerp       
89. Elena Calsamiglia, PhD Researcher, European University Institute            
90. Salma Mediavilla Aboulaoula, PhD researcher & teaching assistant, UGent          
91. Juliette Alenda, Assistant Professor, Radboud Universiteit
92. Olga Burlyuk, Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam
93. Burcu Yaşar, PhD candidate, University of Hamburg
94. Lotte Morel, PhD researcher, Ghent University
95. Omer Faruk Metin, PhD Researcher,  Sciences Po
96. Samer Abdelnour, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh         
97. Simone van Wieringen, PhD candidate, Radboud University Nijmegen   
98. Céline Drieskens, PhD Researcher, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
99. Vendula Machů, PhD candidate, University of Groningen             
100. Pepijn Brandon, Professor of Global History, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam          
101. Pierre Klein, Professor, Université libre de Bruxelles        
102. Iman Lechkar, Professor, Vrije Universiteit Brussel           
103. Marthe Wens, Assistant professor, VU Amsterdam         
104. Joana Carvalho Pereira, Docent, TUDelft              
105. Elisa Da Vià, Lecturer, Leiden University
106. Simone de Oliveira, Social Educator, Higher Education School of Porto; Postgraduate Degree in Human Rights, Catholic University of Porto
107. Yasmine Kaied , PhD, University Ghent
108. Agustin Ferrari Braun, PhD Candidate, Universiteit van Amsterdam         
109. Jozefien Vanherpe, Assistant Professor, KU Leuven
110. Geraldine Rodríguez , Postdoc, KU Leuven
111. Lippens Lou, Assistant, Ghent University              
112. Solange Fontana, Researcher / Assistant Professor, NIOD 
113. Federica Masci, Research Associate, KU Leuven
114. Marije Luitjens, Peace and Conflict scholar, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
115. Emine Ozge Yildirim-Vranckaert, Doctoral Researcher, KU Leuven 
116. Isabel Awad,  Associate professor, Erasmus University Rotterdam            
117. Houssine Alloul, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam
118. Sofia Verza, Research Associate, European University Institute  
119. Eftychia Mylona, Lecturer, Leiden University      
120. Henk de Smaele, Professor of History, Universiteit Antwerpen
121. Daniela Vicherat Mattar, Associate Professor, Leiden University
122. Jean De Meyere, PhD Researcher, KULeuven/UCLouvain
123. Hanne Hellin, PhD, Ghent University, Department of Special Needs Education     
124. Chrysanthi Pachoulide, PhD, Wageningen University and Research          
125. Martin Calisto Friant, External Professor, University of Amsterdam
126. Gijs van Maanen, Researcher, Tilburg University
127. Elad Magomedov, Postdoctoral researcher, KU Leuven 
128. Loraine Furter, PHD student, Sint Lucas Antwerpen, teacher, University Antwerp
129. Esther Schoorel, PhD researcher, University of Amsterdam          
130. Daisy Van de Vorst, Project manager,  Vrije Universiteit Brussel 
131. Athena Christofi, PhD Researcher, KU Leuven 
132. Dimitris Bouris, Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam
133. Valentina Golunova, Lecturer, Maastricht University
134. Garine Gokceyan, PhD Student, ARIA
135. Alexandros Lefteratos, PhD Candidate, University of Amsterdam
136. Tommaso Fia, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Tübingen
137. Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam
138. Anya Topolski, Associate Professor, Radboud University
139. Arno Cuypers, Junior Researcher, KU Leuven
140. Luz Gómez, Professor of Arabic Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid 
141. Thomas Decreus, Lecturer, Tilburg University
142. Johanna Lems, Assistant Professor, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
143. Hugo Raguet, Associate Professor, INSA Centre-Val de Loire ; Université de Tours
144. Allan Souza Queiroz, Doctor Assistant, Ghent University
145. Elisabeth De Schauwer, Professor, UGent - Department of Special Needs Education
146. Laura Luciani, Postdoctoral fellow, Ghent University
147. Aviva de Groot, Postdoctoral researcher, Tilburg University
148. Hilde Heynen, Professor, KU Leuven
149. Guido Veronese, Associate Professor, University of Milan-Bicocca
150. Gwenn Van Laer, Praktijkassistent, UAntwerpen
151. Amy Phillips, Postdoctoral Researcher, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
152. Jef Ausloos, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam
153. Roberto Beneduce, Full Professor of Anthropology, MD, PhD, Psychiatrist, University of Turin
154. Giovanni Piccinini, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Bologna
155. Saskia Van der Gucht, Researcher - Teacher, Sint Lucas Antwerpen, KdG
156. Nathalie Vallet, Professor, UAntwerpen
157. Rachel Griffin, PhD candidate, Sciences Po Paris
158. Ladan Rahbari, Assistant Professor of Political Sociology, University of Amsterdam; Senior Researcher,IMI
159. Ward Heirwegh, Teacher, Sint Lucas Antwerpen; Karel de Grote Hogeschool       
160. Reuben Binns, Associate Professor, University of Oxford
161. Pauline Trouillard, Lecturer, University of Rennes
162. Puttaert Hugo, Teacher Master programme, Sint Lucas Antwerpen; Karel de Grote Hogeschool
163. Mateo Broillet, Teaching assistant, Sint Lucas Antwerpen
164. Sigrid Vertommen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ghent University
165. Afrah Aboo, PhD researcher, KU Leuven
166. Itamar Shachar, Assistant Professor, Hasselt University
167. Naïké Garny, PhD candidate, KU Leuven
168. Tim Christiaens, Assistant professor, Tilburg University
169. Ole Soltau, Student, KU Leuven
170. Aleksandra Kuczerawy, Postdoctoral fellow, KU Leuven
171. Abeba Birhane, Adjunct assistant professor, School of computer science and statistics, Trinity College Dublin
172. Geertrui Van Overwalle, Full Professor Em., KU Leuven
173. Federica Cavazzoni, Post-doc researcher, University of Milano-Bicocca
174. Maria Cristina Paciello, Researcher, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
175. Carine Defoort, Professor Chinese Studies, KU Leuven   
176. Barbara De Poli, Associate Professor, Ca' Foscari University Venice          
177. Marissa Willcox, Lecturer, The University of Amsterdam               
178. Ioannis Tsamouras, Master's student, KU Leuven
179. Francesco Vacchiano, Associate professor, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice           
180. Oscar Coppieters, Lector, KDG Antwerp
181. Arthemis Snijders, PhD Researcher, UGent         
182. Leander Stähler, Doctoral Researcher, KU Leuven            
183. Alessandra Calvi, PhD candidate, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; CY Cergy Paris Université
184. Jill Toh, PhD researcher, University of Amsterdam
185. Barbara Müller, Associate Professor, Radboud University
186. Rufus Rune, MSc student in Sustainable Technology,       KTH Royal Institute of Technology
187. Patrizia Zanelli, Contract Professor, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
188. Javier Barreda, Associate Professor, University of Alicante            
189. Cristina García Cecilia, Professor, University of Alicante 
190. Safae el Khannoussi el Bouidrin, Doctoral Candidate, University of Amsterdam
191. Adriana Costa Santos, PhD researcher, UCLouvain; Saint-Louis   
192. Sonia Prieto, Associate Professor, Universidad Complutense de Madrid 
193. Isabella Banks, PhD Candidate, University of Amsterdam
194. Francesca Esposito, Researcher, ICS-ULisboa      
195. Simone Tulumello, Assistant research professor, University of Lisbon
196. Naïma Benaicha Ziani, Professor, Alicante University 
197. Bilgesu Sumer, Doctoral researcher, KU Leuven
198. Noémie Krack, Researcher, KU Leuven
199. An Van Raemdonck,Postdoctoral researcher, Ghent University
200. Sam Hamer, Junior Lecturer, University of Amsterdam
201. Mikki Stelder, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam
202. Chiara Fiscone, Doctoral Student, University of Genoa
203. Jan Tobias Muehlberg, Professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles
204. Andreas Wittel, Senior Lecturer, Nottingham Trent University
205. Daniel Leufer, PhD Graduate and External Advisory Board Member at KU Leuven Digital Society Institute
206. Franco Passalacqua, Assistant Professor, University of Milan-Bicocca
207. Alexandra Giannopoulou, Research Fellow, University of Amsterdam
208. Sabrina Tosi Cambini, Senior Researcher, University of Parma
209. Ann Schreppers, Guest lecturer, KU Leuven
210. Sanna Toropainen, Doctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki
211. Nitin Sawhney, Professor of Practice, Aalto University
212. Andrea Palumbo, Researcher, KU Leuven
213. Irmak Erdogan, Postdoctoral Researcher, KU Leuven
214. Selman Aksünger, PhD researcher, Maastricht University              
215. Alexandra Greene, PhD Candidate, VU Amsterdam         
216. Simone Benazzo, PhD student, Université Libre de Bruxelles
217. Stefano Portelli, Researcher, Universitat de Barcelona   
218. Mauro Van Aken, Associate Professor, University of Milan-Bicocca
219. Alex Govers Pijoan, PhD Candidate, KU Leuven
220. Martin Lundsteen, Ramón y Cajal Fellow, University of Barcelona
221. Isaac Marrero Guillamón, Serra Hunter Lecturer in Anthropology, University of Barcelona 
222. Samantha Joeck, PhD candidate, EHESS
223. Maria Caballero Pons, Research Assistant, Vreje Universiteit Brussel
224. Jouke Huijzer, PhD Candidate, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
225. Bianca Sola Claudio, PhD Researcher, Universität zu Köln
226. Stefania Consigliere, Assistant Professor in Anthropology, University of Genoa
227. Chiara Pilotto, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Bologna
228. Sarah Walker, Research Fellow, University of Bologna
229. Cristiana Fiamingo, Assistant Professor in African history and institutions, University of Milan
230. Vera Sales, PhD Researcher, University of Amsterdam
231. Brigitte Herremans, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Gent
232. Francesca Cerbini, Senior Researcher, Universidade do Minho
233. Martí Torra Merín, PhD Student, Universitat de Barcelona
234. Joost van Loon, Professor, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt
235. Karina Raña Villacura, PhD Candidate, Malmö University
236. Andrea Blatti, PhD Researcher, Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
237. Giovanni Carbone, Full Professor, Universitá degli Studi di Milano
238. Francisco Franco-Sánchez, Full Professor, University of Alicante
239. Caterina Borelli, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
240. Marc Morell, Researcher, Rīgas Strādiņa Universitāte; Part-time Lecturer, Universitat de les Illes Balears
241. Ezgi Eren, Doctoral Researcher, KU Leuven
242. Francesco Zanotelli, Associate Professor, Universitá di Messina
243. İlknur Şafak Demirel, Research Assistant, Karolinska Institutet
244. Luigi Marinelli, Full Professor, Sapienza Universitá di Roma
245. Emmanouil Thanos, Postdoctoral Researcher, KU Leuven
246. Luca Bernardini. Associate Professor, Università degli studi di Milano
247. Michiel Schreurs, Doctoral Student, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
248. Milagros Miceli, Researcher, DAIR
249. Michelle Pace, Professor in Global Studies, Roskilde University
250. Amira Benali, Assistant Professor, Aalborg University
251. Maj Ørskov, Postdoctoral Researcher, Aarhus University
252. Annalisa Soncini, Postdoctoral Fellow, Université libre de Bruxelles
253. Katerina Yordanova, Researcher, KU Leuven
254. Stefania Tarantino, Researcher, University of Salerno
255. Jemma Vercruysse, Student, UGent
256. Annemie Leemans, Assistant Professor, University of Antwerp
257. Barbara Denuelle, PhD Researcher, University of Kent
258. Cindy Eira Nunes, Postdoctoral Researcher, Université libre de Bruxelles
259. Douwe Korff, Emeritus Professor of International Law, London Metropolitan University
260. Richard Wild, Principal Lecturer in Criminology, University of Greenwich
261. Hannah Wilkinson, Assistant Professor in Criminology, University of Nottingham
262. Claudia Fredella, Researcher, University of Milan-Bicocca
263. Alex Hanna, Director of Research, Distributed AI Research Institute
264. Max van Drunen, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Amsterdam
265. Tommaso Sbriccoli, Research Fellow, University College London
266. Chiara De Capitani, PhD Researcher, Universitá degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”
267. Joseph D. Steele, Lecturer and researcher; independent scholar, U. Colorado Boulder
268. Matti Eskelinen, Doctoral researcher in Philosophy, University of Turku
269. Monique Peperkamp, PhD researcher, University of Amsterdam
270. Paola Gori Giorgi, Professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
271. Thomas Van Riet, Associate, KU Leuven
272. Lorenzo Vianelli, Junior Assistant Professor, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
273. Mat Tips, Policy Advisor, KU Leuven
274. Kathy De Wit, Administrative coordinator, KU Leuven
275. Stefano Boni, Professor in Anthropology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
276. Luca Queirolo Palmas, Professor, University of Genoa
277. Davide Pettenella, Full Professor, University of Padova
278. Claudio La Rocca, Full Professor in Philosophy, University of Genoa
279. Salvatore Palidda, Professor, University of Genoa
280. Claudio Bevegni, Full Professor, University of Genoa
281. Luca Guzzetti, Researcher, University of Genoa
282. Laura Santini, Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, University of Genoa
283. Andrea Balduzzi, Researcher, University of Genoa
284. Francesco Della Puppa, Professor, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
285. Davide Filippi, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Genoa
286. Luca Mastracci, Full Professor, University of Genoa
287. Filippo Torre, PhD Student in Sociology, University of Genoa
288. Vincent Dubois, Professor of sociology and political science, University of Strasbourg
289. José A. Brandariz, Professor of law and criminology, University of A Coruna

Further reading