Academics lay down their gowns during a protest against the dismissal of colleagues from universities following a post-coup emergency decree, in the Cebeci campus of Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey, 2017. Umit Bektas/Reuters MER Article Generational Dislocation and Academic Solidarity—Aslı Bâli on MESA’s Global Academy The last ten years have seen a precipitous decline in conditions for academics across the Middle East. With campuses under literal fire in some places and extraordinary repression and authoritarian crackdowns in others, research, writing and teaching have become nearly impossible in many places. Aslı Bâli, Arang Keshavarzian • 13 min read