Can free academia withstand democratic backsliding? Why some universities wither while others survive

Academic freedom faces threats worldwide, including in some democracies that have traditionally been viewed as bastions of free universities. In the 21st century, academic freedom has declined in 20 (former) democracies, ranging from slow deterioration to abrupt collapse. Previous research shows that attacks on academic freedom are systematically linked to democratic backsliding. However, in some democracies that experience backsliding, academia remains autonomous. We employ data from the Varieties of Democracy project, utilizing the Episodes of Regime Transformation dataset and the Academic Freedom Index, alongside data on decline and growth episodes in academic freedom. Through an explorative study design, we analyse various political and academia-related determinants of academia’s resilience amidst democratic backsliding. Our analysis shows that an autocratization episode reduces academic freedom resilience only slightly to levels between 96.7% and 95.5% for a given country-year, compared to over 99.5% for country-years without such episodes. Overall, our analysis highlights remarkable academic resilience.