Universities face increasing polarisation but "have a major role to play in the defence of democracy"

The European University Association (EUA) hosted a webinar on 20/01/2026, titled "Universities and democracy in times of polarisation", that explored the impact of societal and political polarisation on universities in Europe. They discussed practical challenges universities, their leaders and their students face in this regard, whether on campus, in the classroom or in relation to policymakers and society more broadly.

Speakers said universities had a major role to play in the defence of democracy. Angelika Epple, Rector of the University of Bielefeld in Germany and an EUA board member, said: "As universities, we model democracy at two different levels: first, as an everyday practice with how we govern ourselves within the university; and the second level would be how we try to make our students and staff able to think critically about our democracy outside the university."

"One of the biggest misconceptions and misunderstandings of student activism is to treat it as part of the problem of polarisation and not part of the solution," said Duarte Lopes, Executive Committee Member of…