University students and professors holding public classes on Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires in April 2026, protesting the financial neglect of public education by the Argentinian government. Photo credit: TeleSUR. Austerity measures targeting public higher education spearheaded by right-wing governments have emerged as major threats to academic freedom in multiple South American countries. Sharp and rapid funding cuts disrupt ongoing educational activities, as well as restrict access to higher...

The New School's 66 West 12th Street building in New York City, NY, housing the Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons A group of senior administrators at The New School (TNS), empowered by an ongoing financial crisis and wide-scale restructuring in the last year, constitutes a major threat to academic freedom at the institution, which has been dedicated to academic freedom and critical inquiry since its founding in 1919. Recent actions taken by TNS...

Israeli police respond to protests with water cannons during the 2023 "Judicial Overhaul" Protests during which many universities went on "academic strikes". Photo credit: Oren Ziv / Associated Press via Los Angeles Times. On Wednesday, May 6, 2026, the education minister of Israel, Yoav Kisch released a statement demanding that university and college presidents sign written pledges to restrict “political activity” on their schools’ campuses, threatening the institutions of the presidents who...