Germany's research community urges to bolster resilience amid mounting threats to academic freedom

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has warned that academic freedom and the autonomy of research must be defended against "increasing hostility and attacks," even within Germany.

The position paper, authored by a DFG Senate working group and published on 14/07/2026, argues that the responsibility for meeting this challenge lies primarily with the research ecosystem itself, calling for a proactive approach to identifying vulnerabilities and strengthening institutional resilience.

The DFG identifies a "wide range of threats" that vary in scope and motive. These range from harassment of individual researchers to systematic attempts to undermine the entire national research system.

According to the report, threat scenarios include:
• Hostility directed at individuals and their specific…