Academic Freedom and Political Polarization in Europe

Academic freedom has especially since WWII been acknowledged as a fundamental value in higher education and a prerequisite for well-functioning democratic societies. At the same time, in liberal democracies in Europe and elsewhere, academic freedom has long been taken for granted. This situation has changed rather dramatically, amongst other things, as a consequence of increased political polarization, which has led in some European countries, such as Hungary, Italy and Poland, to illiberal democratic regimes coming into power. The reform initiatives of these regimes have included, directly or indirectly, attempts to control higher education, which has led to various forms of infringement on academic freedom. In this paper, we will analyze the ways in which political polarization in Europe affects academic freedom. The analysis takes a point of departure in case studies conducted for the European Parliament Academic Freedom Monitor in 2025 and 2026. The country cases chosen for analysis here show a mix of what may be labelled liberal, illiberal and post-illiberal regimes – including Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland and Estonia. The countries also show a mix concerning their performance in the Academic Freedom Index, while all have had parties on the far right either in power, or having obtained a substantive share of the political vote. The analyzed trends in the selected countries show first that political polarization has affected the political, legal and financial framework conditions for higher education in such a way that the state of academic freedom is in various ways eroding. Furthermore, political polarization has also entered the academic community where it forms a potential threat to academic freedom.