More countries are witnessing declines in academic freedom than improvements, with universities increasingly facing political, ideological and administrative pressures, as per the Academic Freedom Index (AFI) released by V-Dem (Varieties of Democracies) Freedom Index project, a collaboration between researchers at Germany’s Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Sweden’s V-Dem Institute, the Scholars at Risk Network, and the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi). The project assessed academic freedom across the world between 1900 and 2025.
The key takeaway of the report is regarding institutional autonomy is affected across the globe, affecting the freedom to research and teach. While the report devotes considerable attention to the rapid deterioration in the United States, India, along with Hungary and Turkey are also identified as “autocratizing countries” where university autonomy has steadily weakened over the past decade.
Across 179 countries, researchers found a Pearson correlation of 0.91 between institutional autonomy and the freedom to research and teach—an unusually strong relationship in social science research. Universities that can make independent decisions on appointments, curriculum, research priorities and governance tend to provide stronger protections for scholars than those subject to political or external control.
The report concludes that “Autonomous institutions are better equipped to resist political pressure, safeguard merit-based appointments, and provide organizational shelter for scholars whose work might challenge prevailing political or ideological interests.”
“Conversely, when institutional autonomy is weak, governments can exert indirect control through leadership appointments, conditional funding, or restrictions on operational decision-making in admissions, hiring of academic staff, and research content, thereby undermining academic freedom even without overt repression.”
Unlike the United States, where the report describes a steep decline beginning around 2020, India’s deterioration is portrayed as gradual, stretching from roughly 2013 through 2025.
The report also places India among the lower-performing countries globally on the Academic Freedom Index, highlighting a statistically significant decline over the past decade.
Liberal morality increasing in campuses
An interesting finding in the index is that in recent years higher education institutions have become a locus where liberal attitudes, norms, and cultural values are dominating. As per the report, scholars holding heterodox or conservative viewpoints feel reluctant to speak openly for fear of social sanction and reputational harm.
A decade of global decline
According to the Index, academic freedom has declined in 50 countries between 2015 and 2025, while only nine countries registered improvements. The report says the deterioration spans almost every aspect of academic life – from freedom to research and teach, to campus integrity and academic expression.
The report stresses that autonomy does not mean universities should operate without oversight. Rather, they should be protected from “undue interference from the state or other external, non-academic actors.”
For India, the report arrives at a moment when public debate about higher education extends far beyond classrooms. The past two years have witnessed repeated protests over competitive examinations, recruitment processes and university administration. The nationwide outrage following the NEET-UG paper leak sparked demonstrations across several states, with students demanding accountability, cancellation of compromised examinations and stronger safeguards against malpractice.
Recruitment examinations for government jobs have also triggered protests over delayed results, alleged irregularities and repeated cancellations. Student organisations have argued that years of preparation are being undermined by systemic failures rather than academic performance.
The report can be accessed here.
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