The foundational principle of university autonomy is facing an escalating crisis as governments in both autocratic regimes and established democracies increasingly interfere in higher education, according to the latest annual findings from Scholars at Risk (SAR). The international academic rights organization, in its newly released "Free to Think 2026" report, warns that the independence of research and teaching is being systematically "violated," with nations such as the United States, India, and Georgia seeing significant erosions of institutional liberty over the past year.
The report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the global landscape for intellectual freedom, documents 382 specific attacks on scholars, students, and academic institutions across 59 countries and territories. These incidents occurred during the reporting period spanning July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. While the total number of documented attacks saw a marginal decrease from the 395 incidents recorded in the previous year’s tally, the geographic scope of the crisis has expanded significantly. Last year’s report evaluated 49 countries, whereas this year’s assessment grew to include 59, suggesting that threats to academic freedom are becoming more widespread even if the raw number of reported major incidents has slightly dipped.
The nature of these violations varies by region, but the report emphasizes that the differences are not merely numerical; they represent a shifting strategy in how state and social actors exert control over the production of knowledge. The data from the 2025–26 period reveals a grim spectrum of interference, ranging from the legislative and administrative hollowing out of university independence in the West to "direct repression and overt violence" in more authoritarian contexts.
In countries with a history of severe restrictions on dissent, the report documents extreme measures taken to silence the academic community. China and Russia remain focal points for the wrongful imprisonment of academics who deviate from state narratives. However, the violence has escalated to even more lethal levels in other regions. The SAR report flags "targeted assassinations" of university leaders in Guatemala and Pakistan, marking a terrifying peak in the physical risks faced by those in positions of educational authority.
Despite these overt acts of violence in autocracies, some of the most concerning developments for global observers involve the subtle but persistent "legislative and administrative shifts" occurring in democratic nations. The report suggests that countries traditionally associated with robust academic freedom are now implementing policies specifically designed to restrict higher education systems and limit the scope of intellectual inquiry.
The United States features prominently in the report’s analysis of democratic backsliding. One of the most significant administrative hurdles identified is the implementation of full or partial immigration bans on nationals from 39 different countries. Brought into effect through a series of presidential proclamations, these bans have placed international students and visiting scholars in an incredibly precarious position. By restricting the movement of academics based on their country of origin, the report argues, the government has undermined the international collaboration that is essential to modern scientific and humanistic research.
