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Alarmed by the victory of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in an east German state government election, major higher education organisations have made urgent pleas to uphold academic freedom, open-mindedness and other essential elements of the country’s higher education system.
NSF and the Department of Commerce have scrubbed references to the dangers of political interference in science from official agency policy documents.
Violent state repression and government interference in university autonomy lead the global decline in academic freedom, according to Scholars at Risk’s (SAR) Free to Think 2026 report.
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has signed the position paper Free Science – Successful Economy – Strong Germany, published today by the Berlin Research Network.
Is it a good faith attempt to fix problems in academia, or a smokescreen for cuts to universities and political control over science?
External influences - such as politics, funding and the media - are increasingly putting the autonomy of research under pressure.
Europe can only deliver on its ambitions with research and innovation, proposes, among other things, establishing the free movement of knowledge as a fifth European freedom, alongside the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.
If not for money, disgruntled researchers from around the world might still come to Europe for a taste of academic freedom
Competitive funding is breaking down just a few years after it was set up using EU and World Bank money.
Being frozen out of Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ for over three years has taken its toll on the country’s academics.
Afghanistan is the latest test case for how Europe helps researchers threatened at home or fleeing abroad.
The US has seen a particular drop in university autonomy, which has fallen by 50% in the past decade, faster than several countries moving toward autocracy
Hungarian academics are hopeful that an EU ruling banning 30 institutions, including 21 universities, from Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ will finally be lifted with the election of a new government.
European universities celebrate opportunity for Hungarian institutions to restore academic freedom.
This post is an urgent call to push back against global trends in academic censorship and threats to free speech in scholarly communications.
Seit Donald Trump wieder Präsident ist, hat sich die Lage an US-Universitäten drastisch verändert: Studierende fürchten Abschiebungen, Wissenschaftler verlieren ihre Stellen und wichtige Forschungsprojekte werden gestrichen.
For decades, research universities have relied on federal funding, with no guarantee that it will last. Now their survival may depend on compliance with the government.
The past year was a shock to the U.S. higher education system. The coming year may see even more jolts.
Geopolitical tensions and territorial disputes can hinder the free exchange of ideas. This article recommends guidelines for event organizers, researchers and publishers to minimize geopolitical sensitivities.
