Staff and students at SOAS University of London were set to stage a protest in response to an academic at the institution standing for Germany¡¯s far-right Alternative f¨¹r Deutschland (AfD) party in the forthcoming European elections.

Members of the School of Law issued a statement stating that they were ¡°deeply dismayed¡± and ¡°appalled¡± that Gunnar Beck, a reader in the department, had ¡°chosen to associate with this party¡±, which they said was ¡°widely recognised as a far-right, anti-immigrant, Islamophobic, and reactionary party¡±.

¡°We would like to express our vehement opposition to this party and its policies, and distance ourselves entirely from those who advocate and support them,¡± the statement says. ¡°We are speaking out because we recognise the importance of not being complicit in the normalisation of reactionary, right-wing populism.

¡°We regard the AfD¡¯s views as utterly incompatible with our basic values of equality, acceptance, and non-discrimination, and with our commitment to ensure dignity and respect for all students and staff at SOAS.¡±

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A??was due to take place at the institution on 17 May. A Facebook event for the protest calls for Dr Beck to be dismissed and for SOAS to provide an explanation for its ¡°role in facilitating his far-right politics¡±.

Paul Cottrell, acting general secretary of the University and College Union, said he was ¡°shocked that a member of academic staff from SOAS could be involved with a party like?[the AfD]?which stands for policies utterly incompatible with the values of diversity, tolerance and internationalism at the very heart of SOAS?as an institution¡±.

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In a?, SOAS said that it finds ¡°the policies of the AfD on a range of matters to be abhorrent¡± and it recognises the ¡°anxiety caused to staff and students as a result of this situation¡±.

But it said that ¡°as an academic institution, we are committed to the rights of academic freedom of speech within the law, despite the painful choices to which it gives rise¡±.

¡°We encourage members of our community to tackle these issues through robust debate,¡± the university added.

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com