Ricerca di base e ricerca applicata in antropologia: libertà di ricerca tra neoliberismo e sicurezza

The article highlights some pragmatic ways to look at degrees of research freedom typical of applied anthropology and basic anthropological research in Italy. Research freedom is constrained by a number of aspects including the nature of the funds available, which is crucial. Funds for applied research are by definition devoted to applied purposes thus the main products of such research are oriented by the rationale of the applied objective. Basic research is disentangled from applied purposes but still needs to be financed either by private or public funds which delimit the range of research choices. While In the US and UK a huge amount of private funds fostered the flourishing of basic research in anthropology, in Italy public funding has been essential to guarantee basic research activities. New restrictive mechanisms for granting public research funds may undermine the freedom of the researchers to determine the objectives of their research work. A neoliberal system of university research evaluation that focalizes on dubious criteria of quality is progressively driving the Italian academics research objectives. Threats to academic freedom rise also from the global war on terror which resulted in a perceived need of widespread securitization. Eventually, the article wonders about the rationale of the drastic cut of the Italian national public expenditure for research.