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Threats to Institutions of Higher Education in Closing Spaces
DRG Learning Digest | December 2024
Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) contribute to every country’s economic, social, and political development. They encourage critical thinking and civic engagement and help build human capital through knowledge transfer and training. Their research contributes to innovation and helps build networks of learning and practice within and beyond national borders. Yet, as an examination of cross-national data on higher education between 1960 and 2017 shows us, global trends have led to increasing opposition to higher education, and HEIs are increasingly threatened with infringements on their academic freedom. According to the Academic Freedom Index in 2024, in the past year, 23 countries have seen a decline in academic freedom; only 10 have seen improvement. The below figure shows trends in selected countries. A recent report from USAID’s Higher Education Learning Network, “Higher Education in Closed and Closing Spaces,” describes threats to HEIs, the effect of those threats on development, and options for USAID to protect HEIs. This Learning Digest outlines highlights of that report and links to additional research on opportunities to support HEIs in an era of democratic backsliding.
This edition of the DRG Learning Digest examines the following topics:
Countries around the world are suffering declines in academic freedom, according to the Academic Freedom Index (AFI). This diagram shows declines for academic freedom in 10 selected countries in Free to Think 2023.
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Besides supporting academic discourse and freedom, HEIs are important drivers of economic, social, and political development. According to USAID’s Education Policy, they “have the capacity to be central actors in development by conducting and applying research, delivering quality education, and engaging with communities.” They do this through contributing to human capital with training, skills transfer, and education that equips the workforce to contribute to their economy and society. HEIs are knowledge-generators, providing critical resources and expertise to advance innovation. Finally, HEIs are network builders, linking scholars and students across regional and international communities, enabling knowledge sharing and collaboration. One case study in Brazil found that universities are deeply engaged across communities, making significant contributions to both economic and social development. A meta analysis on HEIs in the Global North found that universities and other HEIs make contributions beyond their limited geographic extent through leveraging networks and resources that enable regional knowledge development and sharing. The report, Higher Education in Closed and Closing Spaces, found considerable research supporting the argument that academic freedom allows HEIs to make these contributions, including: |
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USAID’s Education and Resilience Framework classifies threats to HEIs by the target of the threat and the severity of the threat’s effect, as seen in the below chart. At the most severe level, threats of violence against HEI staff and students, including violence, killing, and disappearances, are used to silence the voices of individuals who protest or otherwise oppose those in power. The actual and threatened violence intimidate not only direct victims, but also may have a wider effect on protest movements. The organization Scholars at Risk reports that between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, there were 409 attacks (violent and non-violent) on scholars, students, and their institutions in 66 countries and territories, which is a significant increase from past years.
Legislation or policies can discriminate against HEI staff and students by, for instance, barring women’s attendance, assigning scholarships or funding based on discriminatory practices, or restricting employment of staff and graduates. Other threats against individuals include limitations to international travel and exchange, administrative investigations, and disciplinary hearings. These actions can result in external or self-censorship that limits the range of opinions expressed by staff and students and the type of research and teaching they conduct, changing the composition of staff and students, and severely limiting discourse.
Threats against HEIs categorized by severity and target from Higher Education in Closed and Closing Spaces Evidence Report.
In addition to targeting HEI staff and students, oppressive regimes may also threaten HEI institutions or systems. Threats to institutions may include surveillance and media smear campaigns, as well as laws or policies that restrict research or teaching. In other instances, the government may install HEI leadership that restricts academic freedom and student expression internally, restricting what research has shown to be a profound opportunity for civic action and engagement within HEIs. The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law provides examples of threats to institutions, where the government has eliminated gender studies from the list of approved fields of study. In more severe instances, the actual physical infrastructure of HEIs has been attacked or has been used for operations of militaries or armed groups. The Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack reported 100 attacks on institutions in 2022 and 2023, alone. At a macro level, governments can stifle entire HEI systems by restricting funding and access to resources, limiting staff and student associations, creating and disseminating political propaganda shaping public perceptions of higher education, and enacting laws that impinge or limit free speech (such as anti-blasphemy laws). Numerous anti-blasphemy laws have been used to target academics, such as laws restricting speech, which can carry very severe penalties. This type of broad-reaching and ill-defined law can have a chilling effect on research and teaching within HEIs.
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USAID’s Higher Education in Closed and Closing Spaces report analyzes opportunities for USAID programming that strengthens HEIs’ resilience against threats from authoritarian regimes. Resilience capacities may include:
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absorptive actions taken to respond to an immediate threat;
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adaptive actions that prepare for future threats; and
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transformative actions that address factors making HEIs vulnerable and making future threats less likely as a result.
Like threats themselves, the report categorizes responses by the target of the response and the type of resilience, as seen in this figure.
Responses by response target and type of resilience from Higher Education in Closed and Closing Spaces Evidence Report.
Support to HEI staff and students include:
- rescue programs for scholars and students that provide placements to continue work and study in safer locations;
- online learning programs also allowing for students and staff to continue studying from a safe location; and
- other emergency safety measures to protect individuals from acute harm.
These actions often provide immediate relief for the individual. They can also be adaptive or transformative for the affected individual, but unless that individual returns to their home country, they are rarely adaptive or transformative at a larger scale. The report provides examples of students and scholars forced out of national HEIs due to political activity and gender, who have been able to seek educational opportunities in other countries. The report notes the transformative potential of network building among these individuals and associated institutions.
Support to HEIs themselves include:
- relocating institutions to safe locations;
- physically securing buildings;
- supporting internationalization for networking and building support for institutions; and
- promoting fair and open decision-making within universities governance structures
Promoting horizontal and transparent university governance structures can strengthen internal cohesion and strong autonomy. Strong professional associations and unions among scholars have, in some cases, been successful in using collective action to oppose restrictive regimes and advocate for academic freedom. Researchers have found examples of staff using collective action to seek legal resolution to protect institutional autonomy and protect academic freedom. In addition, these professional associations can advocate for contract bargaining and strong tenure systems, both of which have also been shown in previous research to help protect HEIs in closed and closing spaces.
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Further Assistance
USAID’s Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance’s (DRG) Office of Civil Society, Labor, and Media (CLM) and the Bureau for Inclusive Growth, Partnerships, and Innovation’s (IPI) Center for Education team is available to provide technical assistance to USAID Missions on topics including supporting HEIs and mitigating threats to HEIs. For additional information or support, please contact HElearning@usaid.gov and/or Neetha Tangirala, DRG/CLM, ntangirala@usaid.gov.
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Tuesday Group: Learning from Poland's Redemocratization
December 12, 2024
USAID’s Tuesday Group hosted a virtual conversation with Maria Skora and Jakub Jaraczewski on Poland's redemocratization. The speakers discussed the efforts being undertaken to re-democratize Poland after an eight-year period of weakening. They shared how the government is de-politicizing institutions and re-establishing rule of law compliant bodies – and do so using a process that itself complies with rule of law. They also discussed the challenges the current pro-democracy government is facing and the strategies they are using. The speakers also addressed how eight years has exacted wear and tear on the societal fabric and how this might be repaired.
December 17, 2024
USAID’s DRG Bureau hosted a presentation and discussion about youth political engagement with Horacio Larreguy, Associate Professor of Economics and Political Science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México in Mexico City, Mexico. Dr. Larreguy presented findings from two randomized evaluations of programs designed to increase youth voter turnout and party engagement in Morocco and the Netherlands. These findings are situated within a broader theoretical framework, exploring the conditions under which informational interventions are most effective, and propose potential complementary interventions to increase youth representation. For more information, see Professor Larreguy's recent articles about low-cost, scalable, online interventions increase youth informed political participation and information's effect on voter-driven accountability.
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Welcome to the DRG Learning Digest, your one-stop shop on the latest research and resources in DRG. Views expressed in the external (non-USAID) publications linked in this Digest do not necessarily represent the views of USAID or the United States Government.
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DRG Learning Digest, a newsletter from the DRG Evidence and Learning team, is a series of latest learning, evaluation, and research in Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance. Views expressed in non-USAID publications linked in this Digest do not necessarily represent the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.
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