Flemming Rose speaking invite withdrawn by Cape Town

Bird sitting with money inside cage, with an eagle refusing to enter. To illustrate Asian universities submitting to authority, especially if tied to funding, whereas Western counterparts have traditionally resisted coercion.

Can academic freedom survive in the new age of hard power?

While submitting to authority comes naturally to Asian universities, their Western counterparts have traditionally resisted coercion. But Donald Trump’s compact could change the game with the illusion of a freedom-restricting deal that is freely entered into, writes Saikat Majumdar

By Saikat Majumdar

17 November

A boat in a storm, representing academic freedom

Affirming shared values will help academic freedom weather the storm

The Magna Charta Universitatum matters more than ever as university freedoms become sharply contested, say Shitij Kapur and Liviu Matei

By Shitij Kapur

12 November

Mark Bray, a Rutgers assistant professor of history, waits in a hotel room in Newark, N.J., before a planned flight to Spain on Thursday, 9 October, 2025.

Academics forced to flee US could become ‘new normal’, says Bray

Better support systems needed for scholars facing political threats, according to historian labelled ‘domestic terrorist professor’

By Patrick Jack

7 November

Sheffield Hallam apologises to China scholar over publication ban

Curtailment of Laura Murphy’s research into alleged forced labour practices in China raises further questions over foreign government interference on UK campuses

By Jack Grove

3 November

Flemming Rose speaking invite withdrawn by Cape Town

V-c says presence on campus of Danish journalist who commissioned Muhammad cartoons could 'retard rather than advance academic freedom'. Elizabeth Redden reports

Register to continue

Subscribe

Related universities

University of Cape Town

Sponsored

Featured jobs

Flemming Rose speaking invite withdrawn by Cape Town

V-c says presence on campus of Danish journalist who commissioned Muhammad cartoons could 'retard rather than advance academic freedom'. Elizabeth Redden reports

Register to continue

Subscribe

Related universities

University of Cape Town

You might also like

Can academic freedom survive in the new age of hard power?

Affirming shared values will help academic freedom weather the storm

Academics forced to flee US could become ‘new normal’, says Bray

Sheffield Hallam apologises to China scholar over publication ban

Sponsored

Featured jobs