The purpose of this dialogue was to begin grappling with notions of neutrality and academic development in three non-western contexts: (1) Jamaica; (2) Ethiopia; and (3) Japan. The authors were asked to describe the political geography of academic development in their countries and to explore questions of neutrality. This dialogue therefore tries to establish whether neutrality is a useful metaphor for academic development in the light of their countries' different histories and contexts. They briefly outline their responses, and then they present a reflection on the differences and similarities in the ways in which academic development plays out in their universities.