‘Stark decline’ in academic freedom: four in 10 face restrictions

A higher percentage of the world’s population live in countries with severe restrictions on academic freedom now than 50 years ago, according to the latest global benchmark.

The 2024 Academic Freedom Index found that 3.6 billion people, equivalent to 45.5 per cent of the world’s population, live in countries where scholars and institutions lack autonomy. The situation is the result of not just shrinking academic freedoms but also population growth, with highly populous countries including India, Brazil and Mexico experiencing decline.

Western countries also fell in the rankings as academic freedom continued to deteriorate, most notably in the US for the fourth year in a row and the UK for the seventh.

In total, the new data show that academic freedom is on the downturn in 23 countries and improving only in 10.

Restrictions on academic freedom make advancing knowledge difficult and “undermine universities’ educational role in society by placing ideology, economic or political interests over the pursuit of academic knowledge”, said Lars Lott, a postdoctoral researcher at Germany’s Friedrich Alexander University and one of the report’s authors.

The researchers behind the study linked the “stark decline” to growing polarisation at both the political and social level in many countries, with the “anti-pluralist, nationalist parties” that have emerged in the past 20 years often restricting university autonomy.

“Societal polarisation may also lead to a climate of fear that discourages scientists from asking controversial research questions or sharing their findings with policymakers and the public,” the report’s authors write.

They add that “toxic” levels of polarisation could also affect institutional and staff freedom to conduct research and teach, particularly in the case of divisive topics such as climate change, migration and gender studies.

However, they continue, while political and social division and limits on academic freedom go hand in hand, there is no proof of causation and research on the connection between the two is limited.

The authors also point out that restrictions do not make scientific progress impossible, citing the example of China, where “scientific advancement occurs even though the party-state severely restricts university autonomy and individual scholarly freedoms”, according to Dr Lott.

Katrin Kinzelbach, a professor at Friedrich Alexander University and another of the report’s authors, added: “Instead of getting entangled in the maelstrom of ‘us versus them’, academics and students should focus on expanding knowledge and understanding, even in difficult times, and across divides that may at times seem unsurmountable.”

The index is based on indicators including freedom to research and teach; freedom of academic exchange and dissemination; institutional autonomy; and freedom of academic and cultural expression.

Czechia tops the list for academic freedom, followed by Estonia, Belgium and Argentina, while North Korea, Eritrea and Myanmar are at the bottom.

The UK scored lower than any of its western European neighbours, many of which claim spots among the top 10 per cent, including Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.

Countries that have seen significant improvements in academic freedom over the past decade include Gambia, Seychelles, Montenegro and Fiji.

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com