--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's really unfortunate that…" description: "\"I think it's really unfortunate that academics have been sidelined in most important policy debates.\" — Juan Cole" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/juan-cole-26631_important_i-think-it-s-really-unfortunate-that-aca_819083.jpg" --- # I think it's really unfortunate that academics have been… ![“I think it's really unfortunate that academics have been sidelined in most important policy debates.” quote by Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/juan-cole-26631_important_i-think-it-s-really-unfortunate-that-aca_819083.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/juan-cole-26631_important_i-think-it-s-really-unfortunate-that-aca_819083.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fe/juan-cole-26631_important_i-think-it-s-really-unfortunate-that-aca_819083.jpg) > “I think it's really unfortunate that academics have been sidelined in most important policy debates.” [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author laments that scholars are excluded from crucial policy discussions. **In simple terms:** Academics are often ignored in policy making. Key Takeaway Advocate for scholarly involvement. Themes policy academia public discourse Mood critical concerned Type opinion analytical When to use this quote - government hearings - media commentary - research funding Key Concepts political science communication Questions to Reflect On - How can scholars make their expertise heard? - What barriers prevent academic input? A Different Perspective Academic insights may be undervalued or politicized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academics Sidelined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academics-sidelined-359176/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Policy Debates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy-debates-359179/) [Really Unfortunate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-unfortunate-359180/) [Sidelined Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sidelined-important-359178/) [Unfortunate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfortunate/) [Unfortunate Academics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfortunate-academics-359177/) ## Related quotes > [ I feel so bad for him \[Bernie Sanders\]. It's really unfortunate that he's been caught in the crossfire here. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-feel-so-bad-for-him-bernie-sanders-it-s-really-unfortunate-that-he/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [If one cannot use technology then it is really unfortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uddhav-thackeray/if-one-cannot-use-technology-then-it-is-really-unfortunate/) [Uddhav Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uddhav-thackeray/) > [It really comes down to the fact that, because I was perceived as a bad guy for leaving the show, I think people were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-caruso/it-really-comes-down-to-the-fact-that-because-i-was-perceived-as-a/) [David Caruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-caruso/) > [ I've heard Donald \[Trump\]s ay this at his rallies, and it's really unfortunate that he paints such a dire negative picture of black communities… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-ve-heard-donald-trump-s-ay-this-at-his-rallies-and-it-s-really/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I think that there's been an unfortunate tendency for right wing think tanks to dominate these discussions. They often produce very shoddy studies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/i-think-that-there-s-been-an-unfortunate-tendency-for-right-wing/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Atheism can benefit no class of people; neither the unfortunate, whom it bereaves of hope, nor the prosperous, whose joys it renders insipid, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/atheism-can-benefit-no-class-of-people-neither-the-unfortunate-whom/) [François-René de Chateaubriand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/) > [It is unfortunate when final decisions are made by chieftains headquartered miles away from the front, where they can only guess at conditions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/attila-the-hun/it-is-unfortunate-when-final-decisions-are-made-by-chieftains/) [Attila the Hun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/attila-the-hun/) > [The world is more like it is now then it ever has before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-is-more-like-it-is-now-then-it-ever-has-before/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would prefer to have a more appealing job. If I could still change careers, I would prefer it. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) ## More by Juan Cole > [Partisan politics has no place in the classroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/partisan-politics-has-no-place-in-the-classroom/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [Take the decision in early March to arrest Muqtada al-Sadr. It was made apparently without knowledge or understanding of the nature of his movement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/take-the-decision-in-early-march-to-arrest-muqtada-al-sadr-it-was/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [Public interest in most of the Middle East was slight at that time; the Arab-Israeli conflict was all that people were interested in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/public-interest-in-most-of-the-middle-east-was-slight-at-that-time/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [I speak Urdu quite a lot, too, and I read a lot of Persian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/i-speak-urdu-quite-a-lot-too-and-i-read-a-lot-of-persian/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [I don't accept the argument of people like David Horowitz that the government should impose some sort of predetermined political balance on academic research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/i-don-t-accept-the-argument-of-people-like-david-horowitz-that-the/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [Did you know that they introduced the 15 percent flat tax on individual and corporate income in Iraq? Something that some politicians very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/did-you-know-that-they-introduced-the-15-percent-flat-tax-on/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [I also argued before the war that the administration was underestimating Arab nationalism and Iraqi nationalism, that it was not going to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/i-also-argued-before-the-war-that-the-administration-was/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [If you put your politicians up for sale, as the US does (alone in this among industrialized democracies), then someone will buy them--and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/if-you-put-your-politicians-up-for-sale-as-the-us-does-alone-in-this/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [To the extent that the (ISIS's) advance is a series of urban revolts against the government of PM Nouri al-Maliki, the US would end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/to-the-extent-that-the-isis-s-advance-is-a-series-of-urban-revolts/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [I think that there's been an unfortunate tendency for right wing think tanks to dominate these discussions. They often produce very shoddy studies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/i-think-that-there-s-been-an-unfortunate-tendency-for-right-wing/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [But September 11 marked a big change in the sense that the public was suddenly interested, and as a professor at a public university…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/but-september-11-marked-a-big-change-in-the-sense-that-the-public-was/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [I lived in the Muslim world for 10 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/i-lived-in-the-muslim-world-for-10-years/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [My main expertise is in the past, but if I have to extrapolate into the future, I would say: no good news any time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/my-main-expertise-is-in-the-past-but-if-i-have-to-extrapolate-into/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [It's not proper for a professor to go before a class and promote one party or another. That's not academic scholarship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/it-s-not-proper-for-a-professor-to-go-before-a-class-and-promote-one/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) > [Administering another country is always a very tricky proposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/administering-another-country-is-always-a-very-tricky-proposition/) [Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) [Explore all 21 Juan Cole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/) ## More Important quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. 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