US Academic Freedom Under “Unprecedented” Attack
US Academic Freedom Under “Unprecedented” Attack
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Scholars at Risk (SAR) has released its Free to Think 2025 report, documenting an “unprecedented” assault on academic freedom in the United States during the first half of 2025.
The international watchdog recorded 40 attacks on academic freedom in the US between January and June 2025, a significant rise from the previous average of 15–20 incidents per year. SAR’s executive director, Robert Quinn, stated that the situation marks a global leader “voluntarily dismantling that which gave it an advantage,” as reported by Khaama Press.
Following Donald Trump’s re-election, the report states that the federal government assumed direct control over universities. The documented attacks ranged from revoking research funds and restricting foreign scholars’ travel or detaining them, to sweeping measures targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The report also found that the Gaza war has been used as a pretext to target faculty and students whose political views diverge from government policy, specifically citing the administration’s use of “allegations of antisemitism centered around the Palestinian issue as a bold pretext to crack down on independent thought.”
Globally, the SAR report documented 395 attacks on higher education in 49 countries during the period between mid-2024 and mid-2025.
