How should academia navigate the geopolitically sensitive Taiwan-China conflict against the background of the Russo-Ukrainian war?

Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva

No cmydz, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: One of the world’s most tense geopolitical conflicts, apart from the current ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, is that between Taiwan (Republic of China) and China (People’s Republic of China). To avoid getting involved in a political fray, academics might silently avoid naming Taiwan, or not refer to it as a country. Ultimately, authors are left to their own devices when it comes to referring to Taiwan, uncertain of the name that should be used to indicate it. Authors might observe broad disclaimers on publishers’ websites, in the footer of editorial board pages, or even footnotes in their own published manuscripts placed there by publishers, that distance the publisher from geopolitical conflicts and/or territorial claims. Although not mentioned by name in such disclaimers, they would include the China-Taiwan conflict or the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, such as the annexed Crimean Peninsula. However, such disclaimers are self-serving and self-protecting, placing the onus of responsibility of the choice of term solely on authors’ shoulders. Since academics might perceive this as unfair protection, publishers should offer clear advice to editors and authors on how to handle these issues sensitively, and how to name locations in geopolitically sensitive areas accurately. Papers with insufficient sensitivity to such issues may be labelled as erroneous, subjecting them to retraction, or they may be subjected to public criticism, so resolving this issue is also an ethical matter in the realm of academic publishing. Currently, no advice exists for such geopolitical issues in two of the most popular ethics-related publishing guidelines, by COPE and the ICMJE.

Date: 2022-08-04
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:cmydz

DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/cmydz

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