An Open Letter in Support of Academic Freedom and Ivan Katchanovski (Published)
Published: June 21, 2026
By: The New Paradigm magazine with signatures of 248 people from 36 countries, including 116 scholars
An Open Letter in Support of Academic Freedom and Ivan Katchanovski is published by The New Paradigm magazine. 227 people from 36 countries, including 116 scholars, now signed it.
It can still be signed by sending to openletter2026@gmail.com the name, position/job title, institutional affiliation, country, and if prefer that the name is not published and only institutional affiliation and country are listed.
We, the undersigned, express our support for academic freedom and Dr. Ivan Katchanovski. We might differ on various issues, but agree on the importance of academic freedom and the need to protect it when it comes under attack. Professor Katchanovski is a well-known Ukrainian and Canadian political scientist at the University of Ottawa. A recent collective letter denounced him and his open access book The Russia-Ukraine War and its Origins: From the Maidan to the Ukraine War. The letter baselessly linked this peer-reviewed book published by a major Western academic press to Russian propaganda and the high popularity of the book to behind-the-scenes promotion by Elon Musk.
Dr. Katchanovski’s other recent academic press book titled The Maidan Massacre in Ukraine: The Mass Killing that Changed the World was banned by the Ukrainian State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting led by a far-right OUN leader. Professor Katchanovski was also blacklisted by Myrotvorets hit list for his scholarly studies of the Maidan massacre that were published in peer-reviewed journals and books and for his exposure of a Waffen SS Galicia Division veteran, who was given standing ovations in the Canadian parliament. He also reported that his home and all other property in Ukraine were seized in retaliation to his scholarly studies. Though we might not share all of Dr. Katchanovski’s academic perspectives, we denounce the persecution against him for his scholarly research.
Dr. Katchanovski is one of the most cited political scientists who specialize primarily in the politics and conflicts in Ukraine. His academic publications include 7 books and 3 dozen refereed journal articles and book chapters. He currently teaches at the University of Ottawa. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Politics at the State University of New York at Potsdam, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, and a Kluge Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. He received his Ph.D. from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University under the direction of Seymour Martin Lipset.
We note that Dr. Katchanovski has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 from the start, called for a long time for European Union membership of Ukraine, and supported democracy and freedom in Ukraine since before its independence. He is also widely quoted in many outlets around the world, does numerous media and social media interviews, and presents his research at major academic conferences in the field.
Academic freedom in both the West and Ukraine is especially important during times of crisis and conflict, such as the tragic Russia-Ukraine war. Academic freedom has to be protected even for scholarly research that challenges prevailing narratives. This particularly concerns politically charged topics regarding this war and its origins. Scholars and their books and other academic publications should not be subjected to collective denunciations, censorship, sanctions, criminal prosecution, and other such retaliation for their academic research. Scholarly publications need to be judged by academic standards. Scholarly disputes need to be settled in academic venues.
This applies to Dr. Katchanovski, his book The Russia-Ukraine War and its Origins: From the Maidan to the Ukraine War, and his other publications. Our position also applies to other scholars researching this war. We advocate for the defense of academic freedom and its application in the case of Dr. Ivan Katchanovski and his research.
Please send your name, position/job title, institutional affiliation, country, and whether you prefer that your name be published (or just your institutional affiliation and country) to openletter2026@gmail.com.
Signed (in alphabetical order, updated July 25, 2026, total from 227 to 248)
A (20)
Abelow, Benjamin, M.D. Formerly, Lecturer in Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine
Acerbo, Maurizio, former member of the Italian Parliament
Agha, Moji, Iranian-American retired psychologist; Human rights activist; Founder, National Peace and Democracy Coalition of Iran (US)
Alper, Muzaffer Ege, Senior Researcher, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finland
Amar, Tarik Cyril, Associate Professor, Department of History, Koc University, Istanbul
Ames, Mark, Journalist, podcast host, “Radio War Nerd,” New York, USA
Anonymous, Dr., School of Political Science, University of Ottawa, Canada
Anonymous, former senior police officer, Italy
Anonymous, PhD Candidate, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Anonymous, PhD Candidate & Lecturer, York University, Canada
Anonymous, PhD Candidate and Lecturer at the University of Potsdam, Germany
Anonymous, Photographer, freelance, Germany
Anonymous, Retired, Norway
Anonymous, Retired Solicitor, Inverness, Scotland
Anonymous, Student of Economic Sociology, University of Turku, Finland
Anonymous, Teaching Professor, University of Ottawa, Canada
Anonymous, Vocational College BS Wilhelms BURG, Germany
Anonymous, Worker, Slovyansk, Donetsk Region, Ukraine
Aunola, Otso, Political Science student, University of Helsinki, Finland
Azad, Nahid, Dr. retired physician, Professor of Medicine, University of Ottawa
B (20)
Bakić, Jovo, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Sociology, Serbia
Ball, Karyn, Professor, Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton
Baumgarten, Helga, Professor emeritus, Birzeit University, Palestine
Baysha, Olga, PhD, Associate Professor in Political Communication, National Research University “Higher School of Economics, “Moscow, Russia
Beauchamp, Jonathan P., Associate Professor, Department of Economics, George Mason University, USA
Belorusets, Yevgenia, writer, artist, Ukraine, Germany
Berekashvili, Bakar, Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Georgian American University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Bergeron, Frédéric, Librarian, Quebec, Canada
Bihr, Alain, Professeur honoraire de sociologie, Université de Franche-Comté
Blackburn, Matthew, Senior Researcher, The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway
Blot, Lionel, copy editor, Éditions Gallimard, France
Bloxham, Donald, Richard Pares Professor of History, University of Edinburgh, UK
Blumenthal, Bud, artist, activist, Brussels, Belgium
Bolotenko, George, PhD in History (U of T, 1979), retired, former an adjunct prof at Ryerson University, a professor at the Scarborough Campus of the University of Toronto, an archivist at Library and Archives Canada
Borozna, Angela, California State University Fullerton
Bouzek, Tomáš, Mgr., military historian, Opava, Czech Republic
Brandist, Craig, Professor of Cultural Theory and Intellectual History, University of Sheffield, UK
Buhre, Isabelle, MSc MA, Political scientist and latinist, The Netherlands
Buls, Zintis, IT support manager, Latvia
C (14)
Cafruny, Alan W., Henry Bristol Professor of International Affairs, Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, USA
Carpenter, Cathy, Canada
Castelein, Luc, admin of the Karl Popper page on Facebook, Belgium
Cato, Jasper, retired conservator, previously at the Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Cavallari, Gerard, Ethnomusicologist, UK
Chaufan, Claudia, MD, PhD, Professor, Health Policy, York University, Canada
Chebani, Rhizlaine, Retraitée, Québec, Canada
Cinquini, Nicolas, intelligence analyst, former French intelligence officer in counter-terrorism, Corsica
Clayton, James, Journalist, World Socialist Website
Colley, Philip, Literary executor, The Gareth Jones Society, United Kingdom
Cooke, Sophie, Associate Lecturer, The Open University
Cosma, Valer Simion, Dr., historian, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
Crews, Robert, Professor of History, Stanford University
Cuccoli, Lorenzo, independent historian, Centre d’études russes, caucasiennes, est-européennes et centrasiatiques (CERCEC, EHESS), France/Italy
D (7)
Dall’Asta, Monica, Full Professor, University of Bologna, Italy
De Leonardis, Fabio, Ass. Prof. of Semiotics, Shanghai International Studies University, PRC/Italy
De Zayas, Alfred, Prof. Dr. Geneva, Switzerland, Geneva School of Diplomacy, former UN Independent Expert on International Order (2012-18), former Secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee, former Chief of the Petitions Department at OHCHR, former President PEN International Centre Suisse romand 2006-09 and again 2013-17
Depoortere, Johan, Journalist, Belgium
Dergunov, Yuriy, Senior lecturer in Sociology, Donetsk
Dionisi, Davide, Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom
Doherty, Niall, Project Officer, Ireland
E (3)
Eckert, Laura, Artist, USA
Elkhoury, Ann, Dr, Sydney, Australia
Ewald, Engelen, Professor of Financial Geography, University of Amsterdam
F (3)
Federl, Doris, Germany
Forsgren, Mattias, Stockholm, Sweden
Frijters, Paul, Emeritus Visiting Professor, London School of Economics
G (12)
Gamet, Frédéric, copy editor, Paris, France
Garcin, Javier, journalist, Mexico
Garman, Sebastian, Dr., retired Senior Lecturer, Brunel University, London School of Economics and Brunel University, United Kingdom
Geddes, Brian, Ph.D., Physics
Gigantino, Bryan, Lecturer, Georgian-American University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Gjefle, Karsten, International Development Professional, Oslo, Norway
Golinkin, Lev, author and journalist, USA
Golovan, Sergey, Senior Scientist, USA
Gerling, David-Ross, PhD, USA
Grable, Alexander, PhD Candidate, King’s College London, United Kingdom
Grenier, Paul R., President, Simone Weil Center for Political Philosophy
Grinshpun, Yelyzaveta, Germany
H (11)
Haack, Jonathan, Adjunct Faculty, Santa Fe Community College
Hahn, Gordon M., Expert, Corr Analytic
Hagen, Alexander, Founder, ISP, Montara, California
Håkan Julander, actor, poet and podcaster for Dissidentpodden, Sweden
Håkan, Danielsson, retired, Göteborg, Sweden
Hammond, Philip, Emeritus Professor of Media & Communications, London South Bank University, UK
Hanley, Brian, Clinical Asst. Professor, UTRGV School of Medicine, USA
Havryshko, Marta, Dr. Thomas Zand Visiting Assistant Professor in Holocaust Pedagogy and Antisemitism Studies, Clark University, USA
Herman, Daniel, Professor, Central Washington University, USA
Hill, Alexander, Professor in Military History, University of Calgary, Canada
Hough, H.P (Pierre), Chairman, SALM, South Africa
I (5)
Ilkowski, Filip, PhD habil., University of Warsaw
Ingledew, Francis, Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature, Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA/Germany
Ioffe, Grigory, Professor Emeritus, Radford University, Radford, VA, USA
Ishchenko, Volodymyr, Dr., guest researcher, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Israel, Lena, former associate professor media science, Sweden
J (7)
Janssen, Antoinette, Blogging Pensioner, Norway
Johnová, Radka, PhD, Retired Assistant Professor at Czech Technical University and external lecturer in economics and marketing at Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Johnson, Charles, Worker, Organizing Director for a Peace Organization, Certificate in Unarmed Civilian Protection, Former Educator, United States
Johnson, Mary, private citizen, USA
Jones, Peter, Professor, Faculty of Design, OCAD U, Toronto
Juncker, David, Professor, McGill University, Canada
Jurema, Bernardo, Research Associate, Research Institute for Sustainability at GFZ, Germany
K (11)
Kalb, Don, Professor of social anthropology, University of Bergen, Norway
Kalkanis, Gregory, school teacher, United States of America
Kallio, Timo, PhD (tech.), Helsinki, Finland
Kaplan, Marina E, Emerita Associate Professor, Spanish and Latin American Studies, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
Karrasch, Ulrich, pensioner, Berlin, Germany
Kien, Tran Manh, Vietnam
Klein, Daniel, Professor Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Kotsaba, Ruslan, founder and head of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, anti-fascist and anti-militarist, prisoner of conscience according to Amnesty International, currently in New York as a political refugee
Kozlovsky, Gregory, Ph.D., Owner, Locust Software GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland
Kragsterman, Johan, retired, Stockholm, Sweden
Kuzmenko, Oleksiy, erstwhile researcher of the Ukrainian Far Right
L (23)
Laakso, Mertz, entrepreneur, Sweden
Lagercrantz, Lova, architect, Sweden
Lagos, Rodrigo, teacher, France
LaMotta, Greg, Retired Federal worker, United States
Lane, David, Fellow Academy of Social Sciences (UK), Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Lashmankin, Aleksandr, graduate student, sociologist, Samara University, Russia
Latva-Nevala, Marko, Key Account Manager, Stockholm, Sweden
Lauterbach-Lang, Anastassia, Dr., Professor of AI and Cybersecurity, Founder AI Edutainment GmbH, an AI Literacy company
Law, Simon, Retired, Australia
Lerchner, Johannes, PhD, Senior scientist, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany
Lévesque, Jean, Associate Professor of History, Université du Québec à Montréal, QC, Canada
Libby, Jacob Aaron, OTR-CHT
Lieven, Anatol, Dr., Andrew Bacevich Chair in US Diplomatic History. Director, Eurasia Program, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
Lilja, Christer Carl, retired, Sweden
Lindquist, Björn, retired psychiatrist, Sweden
Lippy, Saskia Hostetler, MD, Portland, Oregon, USA
Lodynski, Andrzej, London, UK
Loewen, Helmut-Harry, Lecturer, Criminology and Sociology (retired), The University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Canada
Löfquist, Johan B, journalist/photographer, Oslo, Norway
Lorenzo, Stefano Di, Journalist, East And West, EU
Lorincz, Tamara, PhD, Balsillie School of International Affairs, Wilfrid Laurier University
Lottaz, Pascal, PhD. Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Japan
Lucas, Jeffrey, Retired, UK
M (19)
Malmsten, Hasse, Sweden
Mandel, David, Retired professor, Department of Political Science, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada
Marcetic, Branko, staff writer at Jacobin magazine, USA
Markwick, Roger, Dr. Honorary Professor of Modern European History, the University of Newcastle, Australia
McCormack, Tara, Dr., Lecturer in International Politics, University of Leicester, UK
McCracken, Ian, Retired, Norway
McFarlane, Peter, Writer, former Chair of the Writers’ Union of Canada, Canada
Mécontent, Gueux, Secretary of the 3R association, Strasbourg, Alsace
Meder, Sigyn, teacher, Sweden
Mercouris, Alexander, YouTube Commentator, The Duran, United Kingdom
Minghelli, Giuliana, former Associate Professor in Italian Studies at McGill University and Harvard University (US)
Mkrtchian, Alexander, Research associate, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Germany/ Ukraine
Modlich, Hans, M.Eng, Toronto
Mølster, Magne, Theologian / pastor, Estonian Lutheran-Evangelical church, Estonia/Norway
Monte, Francesca, Retired business owner and investor, USA
Moscicki, Pawel, Professor, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Muggler, Reto Andreas, Self-employed, Switzerland
Munley, Frank, Associate Professor (retired), Roanoke College, United States
Mutt, Maria, retired, Sweden
N (3)
Ng, Ryan, graduating student & Chick Fil A worker, College of Staten Island, USA
Nikitin, Vadim, Contributing writer to the London Review of Books and the Nation, United Kingdom
Nirody, Suresh, President, Naught Foundation, U.S.A.
O (3)
ÓhAiseadha, Coilín, Senior Medical Officer, Health Service Executive, Ireland
Öhlin, Mats, Retired Director of Education, Sweden
Olofsson, Erika, Librarian, Sweden
P (15)
Paikin, Zachary, PhD (University of Kent), Senior Fellow, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy, Canada
Pearce, James, Dr, history and languages lecturer, City College Peterborough, UK
Peck, Michael, PhD, Retired, Sydney, Australia
Petersen, Henrik, writer and translator, Stockholm, Sweden
Pettersson, Ulf, economist, Stockholm, Sweden
Petrov, Alexey, Hanover, Germany
Pfefferkorn, Roland, Professeur émérite de sociologie, Université de Strasbourg
Pflugbeil, Sebastian, Dr.rer.nat,Dipl.Phys., retired, cofounder of the NEUES FORUM, Minister after 1989, former Member of the Berlin House of Representatives, founder of “Children of Chernobyl”, former President/board of the German Society for Radiation Protection, Germany
Picker, Jean-luc, MD, FRCS (Ed), Retired director of International Centre for Therapeutic Research, France
Pochapsky, Jason, artist and craftsman
Poenaru, Florin, lecturer in sociology, University of Bucharest, Romania
Popova, Ruja, Historian, Assistant Professor, PhD, Institute of Balkan Studies with Centre of Thracology at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria, Sofia
Proskurnyak, Olga, Postgraduate student of political science, University of Sydney, Australia
Prudnikov, Vladimir, PhD Student, Department of History, Princeton University, USA (citizen of Latvia)
Q (1)
Quinn, Kevin J, BA, Owen Sound, Ontario
R (13)
Ragozin, Leonid, freelance journalist, Latvia/Russia
Raviot, Jean-Robert, Professor of Russian and Post-Soviet Studies, Université Paris Nanterre, France
Read, Christopher, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Warwick
Richards, Alan, Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
Roberts, Geoffrey Member of the Royal Irish Academy. Emeritus Professor of History, University College Cork
Robinson, Piers, Dr, Co-director, Organisation for Propaganda Studies, Research Director, International Center for 9/11 Justice, Germany
Rodin, Andrei, associated researcher, Paris-Cité university
Rosenzweig, Mark Charles, Easton PA , USA, Former director of Reference Center for Marxist Studies, NYC
Roos, Carl-Erik, Retired, Sweden
Ross, Eric, PhD, MBA, Retired, USA
Rotlid, Steinar, Norway
Ruiz, Daniel, PHD, Researcher, UNED, Spain
Runo, Fredrik, Svetsare, Sverige
S (29)
Sakwa, Richard, Professor Emeritus of Politics, University of Kent, England
Sand, Bo, Retired nurse, Denmark
Sanduja, Utsav, Founder and Chairman, Hindus for America First, USA
Sanzo, Luis, Former Head of Statistics in Employment and Social Needs, Basque Government, now retired, Spain
Sapir, Jacques, Professor of Economics (retired) at EHESS-Paris, Professor at School of Economic Warfare – Paris
Sazib, Zahidul Islam, Freelance Translator and Photographer, Bangladesh
Schoendorff, Benjamin, Clinical Psychologist, Liberpsy, Montreal
Sedefian, Zachary, graduate student, Department of Political Science, Brooklyn College, USA
Senyk, Sophia, Historian, Professor Emeritus, Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome
Seymour, Michel, professeur honoraire, Université de Montréal
Shakarian, Pietro A. Dr., Lecturer in History, American University of Armenia, Yerevan
Shannon, Paul, Executive Committee of Massachusetts Peace Action, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Simons, Greg, Professor, Department of Journalism, Media & Communication, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sjölund, Per Olof, history graduate from Lund and Malmö university, Sweden
Skaperdas, Stergios, Professor of Economics, University of California, Irvine, USA
Skogholt, Karl, fisherman, Norway
Slanař, Zbyněk, Businessman-Director/amateur researcher, Pardubice, Czech Republic
Sloper, Miko, retired teacher, Leipzig international school, USA/Thailand
Smirnov, George, Professor of Physics, Retired, Switzerland
Smouter, Youri, journalist/host of 1+1 on Youtube
Söderström, Henry, economist and translator, Stockholm
Solar, Marc, MSc. Physics, Teacher in Bern and CEO Serenity Audio
Solomon, Jon, Professeur des universités, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 et Université Paris Nanterre, France
Soshnikov, Alexander, Professor of Mathematics, University of California at Davis, USA
Spinoso, Salvatore Fabrizio, Professore, Docente di Conservatorio, Italia
Spriewald, Götz, former photo lab technician and media designer, Germany
Stranne, Frida, Associated Professor Peace- and development Studies, Senior Lecturer Political Science, Sweden
Surovell, Jeffrey, Adjunct Professor, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Szamuely, George, PhD, Author, broadcaster and podcast host
T (8)
Taras, Raymond, Professor Emeritus, Tulane University, New Orleans, United States
Tasić, Vladimir, Professor, University of New Brunswick, Canada
Terekhov, Ievgen, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor, Ukraine
Thelin, Ace, historian, journalist, California, USA
Tikhonov, Vladimir (Pak Noja), professor, Oslo University, Norway
Tokarczuk, Wiesław, Master of Science in Forestry, retired, Poland
Trégouët, Gildas, retraité, Montréal, Canada
Turner, Hugo, independent historian, USA
U (1)
Utter, Paul, entrepreneur, Spain/Sweden
V (10)
Van de Beek, Eric, investigative journalist, Media Pro – Pro Media, The Netherlands
Van de Water, Rob, Former Special Adviser to the Group of Progressives and Democrats in the European Parliament, Germany
Van der Kelen, Thomas, Translator, Antwerp, Belgium
Van der Pijl, Kees (Prof Dr), retired from University of Sussex, UK, the Netherlands
Vidojević, Jelena, Research Fellow, New South Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa
Vielmini, Fabrizio, MA, Analyst – Russia & Eurasia V> – International Institute for Global Analyses, translator of the Italian version of the Maidan Massacre book
Villaseñor, Dario, Mexico City, Mexico
Vollan, Tore, Cinematographer, Norway
Voronin, Anatoly, multilingual blogger, Ukraine
Vuorinen, Esa, Professor Emeritus, Dept of Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, Luleå Univ. of Technology, Sweden
W (6)
Wahlby, Mercédès, Senior physician, in internal medicine and geriatrics, Sweden
Webster, John, Retired, UK
Weskamp, Axel, retired teacher, Germany
Williams, Rob Lyons, former member Province of Saskatchewan Legislature
Winzer, Beate, Dipl. Pol., free Researcher, Berlin
Wünschmann, Doris, Academic Student – master of governance, Fern Universität, Hagen, Germany
Y (2)
Yoshida, Hiroshi, Associate Professor of Okayama University, Japan
Youril, John, Artist, USA
Z (2)
Zaeh, Rudi, retired, Germany
Zaslavskii, Oleg, Senior Scientific Fellow, V N. Karazin Kharkiv University, Ukraine
The open letter can still be signed by sending to openletter2026@gmail.com the name, position/job title, institutional affiliation, country, and if prefer that the name is not published and only institutional affiliation and country are listed.
