German science and industry organisations issue warning on academic freedom ahead of state elections

Twenty-three German science, academic and industrial organisations have published a joint declaration ahead of upcoming state elections, warning that academic freedom is increasingly under threat from anti-democratic forces. They argue this directly endangers the nation's democratic resilience, innovative capacity and economic foundation.

The declaration, published on 02/09/2026, warns that anti-scientific sentiments and ideological interference threaten the country’s global competitiveness and technological sovereignty. It adds that a highly competitive international landscape, combined with rising domestic hostility towards evidence-based science, has put Germany's future at a critical crossroads.

The core threat, they say, comes from ideological efforts to undermine public trust in research: "Hostile forces to science and democracy are attempting to delegitimise, restrict or ideologically influence the results, topics and fields of research."

The organisations say that outstanding research cannot exist in isolation and that rising xenophobic tendencies pose a direct threat to the…