Statement by the Editorial Board of Partecipazione e Conflitto
The Editorial Board of the journal Partecipazione e Conflitto expresses its strong opposition to, and disbelief at, the news of the dismissal of Professor Michelle Pace from Roskilde University in Denmark.
Among her many other works, Michelle Pace is the author of two articles published in Partecipazione e Conflitto in 2021. One, co-authored with Haim Yacobi, is entitled "Settler colonialism (without settlers) and slow violence in the Gaza Strip". The other, co-authored with Muhammad Shehada and Ziad Abu Mustafa, is entitled "Interpolating Gazans' non-violence: Responsibilities in the academy and the media". Both articles show the outstanding quality of Pace's scholarship. They also show her ethical stance on the Palestinian question and on the public role of intellectuals.
Pace's scholarly output is not limited to her work with Partecipazione e Conflitto. She has received several awards for excellence in teaching and research, and she is one of the most prolific scholars and leading voices in Middle East and European Union area studies and, more recently, in research on Palestine and migration. She has an international public profile and contributes regularly to news outlets such as the BBC, Sky News, France 24, The New York Times and The Economist. Before her appointment as Professor of Global Studies at Roskilde University, she was Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Birmingham (2003–2014). She has been invited to lecture at the University of Cambridge several times and was a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford (Trinity Term 2026). She has also been an Associate Fellow of the Europe Programme at Chatham House in London, one of the world's leading think tanks.
According to the Danish press, on 16 December 2025 Pace received official notice of her dismissal from Roskilde University, where she had worked for twelve years. Several aspects of this case raise serious doubts about whether due process and academic freedom were respected. Professor Pace reportedly received no prior notice about her conduct, which the University's letter describes as "unacceptable". Moreover, the decision to terminate her contract appears to be linked to external pressure and to her political and academic positions on the Palestinian question. In particular, press reports say that in 2024 she was asked on several occasions to identify students who had taken part in sit-ins and other demonstrations held on the Roskilde University campus in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Her refusal to do so appears to be connected to her dismissal.
We are Pace's colleagues, scholars equally committed to producing research and knowledge ethically and to speaking truth to power. We cannot help but be alarmed by this case, which adds to the very many other cases of dismissals, suspensions and prosecutions of students, lecturers and researchers who have opposed the genocide in Gaza and criticised Israel's policies of occupation, apartheid, genocide and settler colonialism. Freedom of expression and of speech are fundamental to democratic life. As social scientists, people who spend years studying the problems of human societies, our role has an indispensable dimension of political denunciation of injustice, which we regard as essential and non-negotiable.
We call for the full facts of this case, and the responsibilities of the University's management, to be brought to light. We also call on colleagues, learned societies and institutions to take concrete action in solidarity with Professor Pace. We urge colleagues to decline invitations to conferences or visiting positions at Roskilde University. Where possible, we also urge them to organise public events away from the University, or to move them elsewhere. This would underline the University's responsibility for punishing our colleague Pace by unclear methods and for unclear reasons. We find Roskilde University's position particularly serious because it presents itself as a welcoming home for critical thinkers, as its Critical Edge Alliance initiative is meant to suggest. In light of this case, that initiative now appears performative and superficial.
Finally, we note with deep concern that Denmark has adopted the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism. This definition is currently part of a bill under discussion in the Italian Parliament (DL 1004). Many intellectuals, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, have repeatedly warned against this definition in recent months. In line with them, we denounce the link between the restrictions on academic freedom and freedom of expression on the Palestinian question and Bill no. 1004. Together with numerous civil society organisations, we renew our call for this bill not to be passed.
