Globally, academic freedom is facing a downturn, particularly in the US, as noted in the 2026 update of the Academic Freedom Index. The report indicates that over the past ten years, academic freedom has diminished in 50 nations, with only nine showing signs of enhancement.
‘Liberal democracies are experiencing a concerning downward trend, which is evident in the UK as well as in Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Greece,’ states Angelo Panaro, one of the contributors to the update from the Institute of Political Science at Friedrich-Alexander University, Germany.
This year’s findings underscore significant declines in ‘institutional autonomy’ among nations. This metric assesses the degree of independence that higher educational providers have from external state pressures and non-academic entities.
The Academic Freedom Index is constructed through a peer-reviewed method, relying on evaluations from country experts. These expert insights are compiled to generate estimates regarding academic freedom and other indicators of institutional autonomy. For 2026, the index utilized the knowledge of over 2000 specialists and more than one million data points, which can be found on its website.
The report reveals that ‘the United States has seen a notably sharp decline in institutional autonomy when compared with other Western European and North American nations.’ This drop commenced in 2020 and worsened last year due to ‘an unprecedented set of coercive federal executive actions that exacerbated state-level pressures on independent universities.’ The report highlights that the Trump administration’s attacks were directed at faculty, staff, and students alike.
An extreme instance involved Harvard University facing scrutiny over alleged leftist bias and antisemitism, which resulted in the Trump administration freezing billions in federal funding. Harvard termed these actions as ‘unlawful government overreach,’ resulting from the university’s refusal to compromise its independence.
The intensity of pressure on US universities and research institutions was significantly greater than in countries like Hungary, India, and Turkey, where the decline in institutional autonomy was more gradual.
The 2026 report observed that pushback has arisen in the US through legal and institutional resistance. For example, Harvard University contested and successfully won a legal battle.
‘American research universities are heavily reliant on federal research funding, providing substantial leverage,’ explains Jeremy Berg, a biochemist at the University of Pittsburgh and former editor-in-chief of the Science journals. ‘Although a few universities have begun to resist, the majority have remained compliant.’
Institutions that opted to take on the Trump administration in court ‘stand a good chance of prevailing,’ Berg asserts, indicating ‘that the administration’s actions are illegal’.
‘This erosion of academic freedom is part of a larger democratic deterioration we are witnessing in the US,’ comments Jennifer Jones, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. ‘It reflects the rise of authoritarianism seen in Hungary and Turkey, where higher education is frequently under attack.’
Academic freedom began its global decline around 2012, primarily due to setbacks in Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa. ‘Currently, the declines are affecting established liberal democracies,’ notes Panaro. One contributing factor is the emergence of right-wing populist parties that generally disdain pluralism in public discourse and adopt hostile attitudes towards academia, she observes.
‘Nations with greater democratic structures typically have higher levels of academic freedom,’ remarks Panaro. Leading nations in the index include Czechia, Estonia, Belgium, Jamaica, Sweden, and Honduras. Countries that have made progress include Bangladesh, Syria, Thailand, and Uzbekistan. There is also optimism that academic freedom in Hungary may improve following the recent electoral defeat of the Orbán government.