15/09/2026
Read Scholars at Risk Free to Think 2026 report on academic freedom across the world
📢SAR’s report is out now! Released on the International Day of , the report documents 382 attacks on across 59 global contexts and finds that the leading threats to in 2026 are violent repression and government interference in .
This past year, scholars and students continued to face targeted attacks, forced disappearances, wrongful imprisonments, and brutal crackdowns on student protest and expression. But governments also undermined university autonomy—censoring curricula, restricting funds on ideological grounds, hampering international education, and more—to impose ideological control onto higher education institutions.
From the to to and beyond, these attacks corrode universities’ ability to serve as sites of democratic discourse and coerce scholars and students into prioritizing political compliance over academic merit and the public good. It is essential that the higher education community, national and international policymakers, and civil society work together to protect academic freedom and the crucial role universities play in a thriving democracy. Learn how by reading the report now: https://www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/free-to-think-2026/
