Academic Freedom Under Fire: How Political Extremism Threatens Universities
"A look at the growing threats to academic independence in Europe and the importance of safeguarding intellectual freedom."
For decades, the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) has offered sanctuary to scholars fleeing conflict and persecution. Founded in 1933 by William Beveridge and Ernest Rutherford, CARA has aided countless academics, from biochemist Hans Krebs to philosopher Karl Popper, helping them escape oppression and continue their work in safety.
Organizations like CARA thrive where governments respect the cornerstones of democracy: the rule of law, a free press, and academic freedom. However, these principles are under threat in many nations, particularly within Europe, as right-wing political movements gain power and influence.
The rise of extreme right-wing parties poses a significant danger to academic freedom. Universities, historically bastions of critical thinking and free inquiry, are increasingly becoming targets of political interference. Understanding the scope of this threat is crucial to protecting the integrity of higher education and the principles it upholds.
Political Views and Academic Hiring
A March 2021 report on three Anglophone countries found that a significant portion of academics discriminated against conservatives in hiring, promotion, grants, and publications. It reported that more than four in ten U.S. and Canadian academics would not hire a Trump supporter. In Britain, one in three academics said they would not hire a Brexit supporter.
Balancing Freedom and Protection
A 2025 article on free-speech principles and standards in academia argues that properly interpreted standards could help avert two threats to academic freedom. One is the limitless dissemination of racist ideas in the name of “absolute freedom.” The other is censorship.
Academic Freedom’s U.S. Origins
A 2023 Stanford Report article presents scholar Emily J. Levine’s examination of the origins of academic freedom in the United States. It says those origins can help explain the complexities and contradictions of academic freedom on college campuses today. The article connects historical inquiry with current campus debates.
The Growing Threat of Political Interference
Across the European Union, right-wing parties have gained considerable ground over the past two decades. Once on the fringes of politics, these parties now hold governing coalitions in 10 of the EU's 28 member states. This shift in the political landscape has dire implications for academic institutions.
- Direct State Control: Universities are increasingly subjected to direct oversight and control by the government.
- Loyalty Tests: Academic staff are often forced to undergo loyalty tests, compromising their intellectual independence.
- Suppression of Dissent: Any form of dissent or criticism is swiftly quashed, creating an environment of fear and self-censorship.
Academic Freedom Is More Than Expression
The introduction to the Academic Freedom Index’s new global time-series V-Dem data distinguishes academic freedom from freedom of expression. It identifies research and teaching, institutional autonomy, and exchanging research findings with other scholars as important dimensions of academic freedom. The article says these dimensions cannot be subsumed under freedom of expression.
Researching Resistance to Illiberal Tactics
The article on illiberal tactics in Turkey, Hungary, and the United States points to questions for future research. It suggests examining how the transnational diffusion of these tactics affects the possibility of university resistance. It also asks whether international networks that supported Boğaziçi faculty, CEU students, and targeted American academics form an emergent countermovement with its own political logic.
Autocracy and Democratic Backsliding
Research presented by Harvard Kennedy School reports that academic freedom was most repressed in autocratic countries such as Iran, Russia, China, and Egypt. The research also found that academic freedom diminished in countries experiencing democratic backsliding. These findings describe threats in both autocratic settings and countries undergoing democratic backsliding.
A Call to Action
As Michael Ignatieff, rector of the Central European University, observed, the true danger lies in the kind of nation that nationalists seek to create and the means they employ to achieve their ends. While Ignatieff remains optimistic about the future, emphasizing the resilience of universities, it is imperative for academics and concerned citizens to remain vigilant. By speaking out against injustice and defending academic freedom, we can help safeguard the values of free inquiry and critical thought. Academics everywhere must unite to ensure that universities remain beacons of intellectual freedom, undeterred by political interference.
Intimidation and Public Communication
An article in the Journal of Science Communication examines researchers’ freedom of expression amid the rise of authoritarian populism. Its authors argue that this development may affect researchers’ readiness to communicate their research and expertise in public. The article presents this as a potential effect, rather than a quantified finding.
Trends to Watch in the EU
The Academic Freedom Monitor 2025 includes a thematic analysis of the potential impact of selected trends in academic freedom within the EU. The trends named are political polarisation, recent developments in the U.S. higher education and research system, the commercialisation of academia, and foreign interference. The source frames these as topics for analysis, not as quantified projections.
The Politics of Knowledge Production
A 2024 Dædalus article argues that academic freedom should be invoked to protect the politics of knowledge production. It describes knowledge production as the place where related issues can be addressed. The article says academic freedom’s role is to mediate the inevitable tension.
Protest, Speech, and Allegations of Harm
A Stanford Law Review article reports intense debate over what academic freedom means when university members’ political protest and speech are alleged to constitute discrimination, harassment, or bullying. The debate concerns how those allegations relate to academic freedom. The source identifies this as a question about the meaning of academic freedom within university communities.