DFG Senate working group outlines threat scenarios in new position paper and puts forward
options for action for researchers, the research ecosystem and other stakeholders

In Germany, too, academic freedom and the autonomy of research must be defended against increasing hostility and attacks. Meeting this challenge is first and foremost the responsibility of the research ecosystem itself and of everyone working within it. Researchers and research organisations in particular can and should actively strengthen the resilience of research by identifying their own vulnerabilities, making determined use of the possibilities available to them and working together with other stakeholders in the areas of politics, business and society at large.

These are the central arguments of a position paper recently published by a DFG Senate working group. Against the backdrop of current developments and incidents in Germany and numerous other countries, the paper describes threats to academic freedom and outlines options for protecting and strengthening it.

The paper is the second publication issued by the working group, which comprises members of the DFG Senate and Executive Committee and is chaired by Vice Presidents Professor Dr. Britta Siegmund and Professor Dr. Johannes Grave. The group was established last year to develop proposals aimed at enhancing the resilience of academia and the research ecosystem across multiple domains. In its first statement, published in March 2026, it presented “Recommendations on the Resilience of Research Data Infrastructures”.

The new “Position Paper on Strengthening the Academic Freedom and Resilience of Research” was prepared over recent months by the working group in consultation with both German and international experts from academia, business and society. The paper was most recently presented to and discussed by the DFG’s statutory bodies in the course of the annual meeting of Germany's largest research funding organisation and central self-governing organisation for science and the humanities at the end of June.

A wide range of threats

The paper begins by outlining in concise form the ways in which academic freedom is coming under increasing pressure, in particular by identifying the actors involved and their motives. Attacks may target individual researchers and their views, as has already frequently been the case, as well as specific fields of research and research institutions. There are also attempts to discredit academic research or attribute malicious intentions to it.
More far-reaching are attacks that seek to weaken public funding for research, gain control over a research ecosystem or, in the context of geopolitical crises and wars, threaten a national research system as a whole.

In each case, the paper offers examples, including developments in the United States and Hungary and the war in Ukraine, while also citing instances of occurrences in Germany, such as the hostility directed at virologists during the COVID-19 pandemic and the AfD’s “government programme” for the forthcoming state election in Saxony-Anhalt.

Vulnerabilities and protection

In the second part of the paper, the authors argue that such attacks are sometimes facilitated by potential or existing vulnerabilities inherent in the conduct of research and within the research ecosystem itself. For example, the paper notes that opponents are afforded additional opportunities for attack when the impression is created that the research community itself is restricting academic freedom through self-censorship or ”cancel culture”. The paper further contends that research is particularly vulnerable to attack when it is perceived as lacking effective quality assurance and self-regulation, or when the research community is viewed as an insular elite retreating into a fortress mentality. The paper also argues that the research ecosystem is potentially weakened as a result of overly optimistic assumptions and unrealistic expectations about the rationality of its opponents, a lack of solidarity within the research community, and the misleading notion that the research ecosystem is apolitical and therefore need not defend itself.

In addition, the paper identifies specific vulnerabilities within the German research ecosystem, including individual risks arising from dependency relationships and inappropriately short-term employment contracts.

The third section explores the institutional and legal safeguards that protect academic freedom despite the wide range of challenges it faces. Chief among these is the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of research and teaching, enshrined as a fundamental right in Germany's Basic Law.

The paper also emphasises that research in Germany is firmly embedded in both the economy and society. Its contribution to economic and social development, together with the high level of public trust it enjoys, means that attacks on academic freedom are likely to meet resistance far beyond academia.

Where action is possible – and needed

Building on this analysis, the paper outlines a range of options for strengthening resilience through preventive action. These include fostering close and trusting cooperation among researchers and research organisations, as well as building alliances with business and civil society. In order to improve preparedness, the authors also call for expanded research into the programmes and strategies of those who oppose academic freedom and, more broadly, into the relationship between academia, politics and society.

In addition, high standards of academic self-governance and self-regulation must be continuously reinforced and safeguarded.
The paper further argues that the research community must engage in more critical self-reflection, not least to develop a clearer understanding of the distinctions between research-based knowledge and other forms of knowledge, as well as between scientific findings and opinion. It likewise calls for authentic science communication that conveys not only scientific achievements but also the provisional nature of knowledge, the limits of current understanding, and the uncertainties, setbacks and iterative character of the research process. At the institutional level, the authors advocate strengthening procedures, statutes and decision-making processes to make them more resilient to misuse, identifying unanimity requirements as one example of institutional vulnerability. Finally, the paper argues that preventive action is also required to enhance research security and safeguard research infrastructures.

Like the paper itself, these recommendations are addressed primarily to the research ecosystem and those working within it. At the same time, however, the authors identify a wider circle of actors with whom collaborative action is required to safeguard academic freedom and strengthen the resilience of the research ecosystem. These include policymakers, the federal and state ministries responsible for research, and the federal–state bodies responsible for coordinating research policy. Their involvement is considered particularly important in reducing the individual uncertainties and risks faced by researchers, as well as in shielding research from political interference exercised through financial pressure.

In the event of specific attacks on academic freedom, the working group further recommends that the research community and its institutions consider public forms of protest where appropriate. It also emphasises the importance of practical solidarity and mutual support at both the individual and institutional levels, for example through a ”collective duty of mutual assistance”. Finally, it notes that the constitutional protection of academic freedom provides a basis for legal action where judicial remedies offer an effective response.