Academic Freedom in the World
By: Felix Wiebrecht
Nov 10, 2022
Today, UNESCO marks the World Science Day for Peace. In response, this week’s graph shows the state of academic freedom worldwide in 2021 based on the Academic Freedom Index (AFi) project.
Almost two out of five people worldwide, 2.9 billion, live in countries where academic freedom is in decline. For example, students’ unions were silenced and courses on national security were made compulsory in Hong Kong; students allegedly linked to anti-government protests were recently expelled from universities in Russia; Brazil’s introduction of new laws and regulations have created a hostile environment for academics. The decline also affects countries with traditionally high academic freedom levels. In the United States, Republicans have dismantled tenure policies in several states and banned topics from discussion. In Ireland and elsewhere concerns over the influence of China on higher education are growing. Academic freedom is part and parcel of a thriving democracy, and only democracy makes academic freedom flourish.
