The call to action addressed to Finnish higher education institutions, scholars, and students in June 2021 challenges us to reconsider the role of academia in global structures of oppression. It specifically situates Finland’s academic world in relation to Israel’s occupation of Palestine, urging Finnish universities to acknowledge complicity and to take active steps toward solidarity with Palestinian liberation movements.
The Global and Local Dimensions of Colonial Complicity
The statement draws from a long history of critique, noting that Finland, while not a colonial empire itself, has been implicated in colonialism through trade, diplomacy, and knowledge production. Finnish diplomatic recognition of Israel in 1948 and ongoing cooperation with Israeli institutions are seen as examples of “colonial complicity” (Vuorela 2009), where peripheral states indirectly sustain settler colonial projects.
This complicity extends to academia. Universities are not neutral spaces; they reproduce epistemic traditions shaped by Eurocentrism and colonial ideologies (Kuokkanen 2007). By offering courses that normalize Israeli statehood without centering Palestinian perspectives, by maintaining exchange programs with Israeli universities on occupied land, and by previously contracting with companies such as G4S linked to human rights abuses in Palestine, Finnish academia inadvertently sustains settler colonialism.
Silence as a Political Position
One of the strongest criticisms in the call is directed not at overt collaboration but at silence. With few exceptions, such as Tampere University’s solidarity statement in 2021, most Finnish universities and research communities have avoided taking a public stance on Palestine. This silence, the authors argue, undermines the credibility of anti-racist and decolonial scholarship in Finland. To claim a commitment to decolonization while ignoring the reality of Palestine risks turning decolonization into what Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang (2012) call an empty metaphor—a rhetorical gesture devoid of material consequences.
Knowledge, Liberation, and the Ethics of Research
The call also invokes Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed to emphasize that liberation must be rooted in the knowledge and experiences of the oppressed. For Finnish scholars, this means actively engaging Palestinian scholarship, elevating Palestinian voices in curricula and research, and supporting student activism that challenges institutional complicity. It also involves linking Palestine to broader struggles, from Sámi rights in Finland to global Indigenous movements, thereby situating Palestine not as an isolated case but as part of a transnational struggle against settler colonialism.
Toward an Academic Boycott?
The most concrete demand is for Finnish academia to align with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. This would mean cutting institutional ties with Israeli universities and corporations complicit in occupation, while simultaneously supporting Palestinian scholars and initiatives. Critics often frame BDS as controversial, but the call reframes it as a necessary ethical stance, comparable to historical boycotts against apartheid South Africa.
Why This Matters for Finland
For Finland, a country that has long positioned itself as a defender of international law and human rights, the academic silence on Palestine represents a contradiction. Universities here are deeply embedded in global research networks and pride themselves on commitments to diversity and inclusion. Yet, when it comes to Palestine, the avoidance of explicit solidarity raises questions about the limits of those commitments.
By continuing exchange programs with Israeli institutions, Finnish universities risk sending the message that economic and academic collaboration outweighs the human rights of Palestinians. Conversely, taking a principled stand could align Finnish academia with growing international efforts to hold Israel accountable for systemic violations of international law.
A Call for Responsibility and Action
The challenge posed to Finnish academia is not simply about Palestine; it is about the role of universities in global justice struggles. Should universities act as neutral observers, or should they recognize their power in shaping discourse, legitimizing states, and sustaining or dismantling colonial structures?
The proposed actions are clear:
- Revise curricula to include Palestinian scholarship and perspectives.
- End institutional partnerships with Israeli universities and corporations complicit in occupation.
- Support student activism and academic freedom for those who speak out against Israeli policies.
- Extend solidarity to other Indigenous struggles, linking Palestinian liberation to global movements for decolonization.
Conclusion: Decolonization Beyond the Rhetoric
This call to action forces Finnish scholars and students to confront an uncomfortable truth: neutrality is itself a political position. To remain silent is to enable the continuation of occupation. To speak out is to take on institutional risks but also to affirm the ethical purpose of higher education as a space for justice, equality, and liberation.
The question, then, is not whether Finnish academia is implicated in the Palestinian struggle—it is. The real question is: will Finnish universities continue their complicity, or will they seize the opportunity to stand for decolonization in practice, not just in rhetoric?
