ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I want to begin by briefly reviewing the case commonly made for the benefits of global open access, using one of its formative statements, the Budapest Open Access Initiative declaration, as a starting point. I will then outline how OA has been critiqued, including through the lens of critical and postcolonial theory. In this chapter, I will focus primarily on work that engages with OA specifically and provide an initial overview of the key arguments involved. Later in the book (Chapters 4–6), I will expand on the analysis and explore in more detail some of the theories on which critics of OA have built their arguments. Focusing on OA and the way it has been critiqued at this stage will help to define and clarify the central dilemma the rest of the book goes on to discuss.
