Academic boycott of South Africa

International opposition to apartheid in South Africa
Anti-apartheid protest in Amsterdam, 1988
Campaigns Academic boycott Sporting boycott Disinvestment Constructive engagement Free South Africa Movement International anti-apartheid music International sanctions Milton King boycotts
Instruments and legislation 1962 UN Resolution 1761 1973 Crime of Apartheid Convention 1977 Gleneagles Agreement 1977 Sullivan principles 1986 Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act
Organisations Anti-Apartheid Movement Artists United Against Apartheid Commonwealth of Nations Halt All Racist Tours Organisation of African Unity TransAfrica UN Special Committee against Apartheid
Conferences 1964 Conference for Economic Sanctions 1978 World Conference against Racism
UN Security Council Resolutions Resolution 134 (Sharpeville massacre) Resolution 181 (voluntary arms embargo) Resolution 191 (sanctions feasibility) Resolution 282 (arms embargo strengthening) Resolution 418 (mandatory arms embargo) Resolution 435 (South-West Africa ceasefire) Resolution 591 (arms embargo strengthening)
Other aspects Elimination of Racism Day "Biko" (song) Activists Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute Equity television programming ban Rugby union and apartheid
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The academic boycott of South Africa comprised a series of boycotts of South African academic institutions and scholars initiated in the 1960s, at the request of the African National Congress, with the goal of using such international pressure to force the end to South Africa's system of apartheid. The boycotts were part of a larger international campaign of "isolation" that eventually included political, economic, cultural and sports boycotts. The academic boycotts ended in 1990, when its stated goal of ending apartheid was achieved.^[1]

An academic boycott isolates scholars by depriving them of the formal and informal resources they need to carry on their scholarship. An academic boycott can include:

1. Scholars refusing to collaborate with South African scholars on research,
2. Publishers, journals, and other scholarly resources refusing to publish scholarship or experiments by South African scholars, or refusing to provide access to scholars in South Africa,
3. International conferences refusing to locate in South Africa or include South African scholars,
4. Scholars refusing to travel to South Africa or participate in activities such as serving on thesis committees for South African students,
5. Universities and other institutions worldwide refusing to grant access to their resources to South African scholars, or to invite South African scholars to their own institutions.

Both during and after the apartheid era, there was debate whether academic boycotts were an effective or appropriate form of sanctions. Even within anti-apartheid circles there was debate over whether the boycotts were ethically justified, and whether they hurt liberal scholars more than conservative ones.^[1] Campus libertarians criticized the ban because they believed it interfered with academic freedom, and conservative groups worldwide criticized the boycotts simply because they "disliked such anti-apartheid initiatives".^[2]

Subsequent research in the post-apartheid area has claimed that the boycotts were more a "symbolic gesture of support" for anti-apartheid efforts rather than a direct influencer of the situation.^[1] Additionally, the academic boycott was perceived by the targets of the boycott, South Africa scholars, as unjust and discriminatory.^[1]