{"title":"对美国学术自由的限制影响着世界各地的科学","authors":"Frank Fernandez, Neal Hutchens","doi":"10.1038/s41562-025-02248-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Historically, the USA has enjoyed greater academic freedom than many countries, and this has likely contributed to its centrality in global research networks. For years, state-level attacks (such as those by Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida) have undermined academic freedom at single campuses or across public university systems<sup>2</sup>. But under the Trump administration, coordinated attacks on academic freedom are being carried out at the national level and are targeting both public and private universities. The administration has targeted institutional autonomy by threatening large-scale federal funding freezes to specific universities, such as Columbia University, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. These attacks on universities and federally funded research undermine the arrangements (such as having university faculty members rather than political appointees review proposals for federal grants) that make the USA a globally competitive producer of scholarly scientific publications. Even private industry works in partnership with universities on basic research. Bibliometric analyses estimate that 85–90% of publications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, plus health (STEM+) — including those funded by industry contracts — are co-authored by university-based scientists<sup>3,4</sup>.</p><p>Although new for American higher education, the Trump administration’s approach is similar to policies followed by Cold War autocratic regimes such as East Germany, where research funding was politicized and research production stalled. Much of the world experienced exponential growth in science production during the latter half of the twentieth century. By contrast, East Germany stood out for its decrease in STEM+ research production<sup>5</sup>. When former German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected on working as a physicist in East Germany before reunification, she described the danger of becoming comfortable with the boundaries imposed by the state, and the benefits — after reunification — of a more open society that pushed you “to your limits” as a scientist. Merkel realized how autocratic rule had badly constrained East German physics research.</p>","PeriodicalId":19074,"journal":{"name":"Nature Human Behaviour","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":21.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Restrictions on US academic freedom affect science everywhere\",\"authors\":\"Frank Fernandez, Neal Hutchens\",\"doi\":\"10.1038/s41562-025-02248-9\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p>Historically, the USA has enjoyed greater academic freedom than many countries, and this has likely contributed to its centrality in global research networks. For years, state-level attacks (such as those by Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida) have undermined academic freedom at single campuses or across public university systems<sup>2</sup>. But under the Trump administration, coordinated attacks on academic freedom are being carried out at the national level and are targeting both public and private universities. The administration has targeted institutional autonomy by threatening large-scale federal funding freezes to specific universities, such as Columbia University, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. These attacks on universities and federally funded research undermine the arrangements (such as having university faculty members rather than political appointees review proposals for federal grants) that make the USA a globally competitive producer of scholarly scientific publications. Even private industry works in partnership with universities on basic research. Bibliometric analyses estimate that 85–90% of publications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, plus health (STEM+) — including those funded by industry contracts — are co-authored by university-based scientists<sup>3,4</sup>.</p><p>Although new for American higher education, the Trump administration’s approach is similar to policies followed by Cold War autocratic regimes such as East Germany, where research funding was politicized and research production stalled. Much of the world experienced exponential growth in science production during the latter half of the twentieth century. By contrast, East Germany stood out for its decrease in STEM+ research production<sup>5</sup>. When former German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected on working as a physicist in East Germany before reunification, she described the danger of becoming comfortable with the boundaries imposed by the state, and the benefits — after reunification — of a more open society that pushed you “to your limits” as a scientist. 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引用次数: 0
摘要
历史上,美国比许多国家享有更大的学术自由,这可能有助于其在全球研究网络中的中心地位。多年来,州级攻击(如佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)发起的攻击)已经破坏了单个校园或整个公立大学系统的学术自由。但在特朗普政府的领导下,对学术自由的协同攻击正在国家层面展开,目标是公立和私立大学。奥巴马政府威胁要冻结对哥伦比亚大学(Columbia University)、哈佛大学(Harvard University)和宾夕法尼亚大学(University of Pennsylvania)等特定大学的大规模联邦资金,以此打击大学的自主权。这些对大学和联邦资助研究的攻击破坏了使美国成为具有全球竞争力的学术科学出版物生产国的安排(例如由大学教职员工而不是政治任命人员审查联邦拨款提案)。甚至私营企业也与大学合作进行基础研究。文献计量分析估计,85% - 90%的科学、技术、工程和数学以及健康(STEM+)领域的出版物——包括那些由行业合同资助的出版物——是由大学科学家共同撰写的。虽然特朗普政府的做法对美国高等教育来说是新的,但它与冷战时期东德等专制政权所遵循的政策相似,东德的研究经费被政治化,研究成果陷入停滞。在20世纪后半叶,世界上许多地方都经历了科学生产的指数级增长。相比之下,东德因其STEM+研究产出的减少而引人注目。当德国前总理安格拉·默克尔(Angela Merkel)回顾统一前在东德作为物理学家的工作时,她描述了对国家强加的边界感到舒适的危险,以及统一后一个更开放的社会将你推向“你的极限”作为科学家的好处。默克尔意识到独裁统治严重限制了东德的物理研究。
Restrictions on US academic freedom affect science everywhere
Historically, the USA has enjoyed greater academic freedom than many countries, and this has likely contributed to its centrality in global research networks. For years, state-level attacks (such as those by Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida) have undermined academic freedom at single campuses or across public university systems2. But under the Trump administration, coordinated attacks on academic freedom are being carried out at the national level and are targeting both public and private universities. The administration has targeted institutional autonomy by threatening large-scale federal funding freezes to specific universities, such as Columbia University, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. These attacks on universities and federally funded research undermine the arrangements (such as having university faculty members rather than political appointees review proposals for federal grants) that make the USA a globally competitive producer of scholarly scientific publications. Even private industry works in partnership with universities on basic research. Bibliometric analyses estimate that 85–90% of publications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, plus health (STEM+) — including those funded by industry contracts — are co-authored by university-based scientists3,4.
Although new for American higher education, the Trump administration’s approach is similar to policies followed by Cold War autocratic regimes such as East Germany, where research funding was politicized and research production stalled. Much of the world experienced exponential growth in science production during the latter half of the twentieth century. By contrast, East Germany stood out for its decrease in STEM+ research production5. When former German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected on working as a physicist in East Germany before reunification, she described the danger of becoming comfortable with the boundaries imposed by the state, and the benefits — after reunification — of a more open society that pushed you “to your limits” as a scientist. Merkel realized how autocratic rule had badly constrained East German physics research.
期刊介绍:
Nature Human Behaviour is a journal that focuses on publishing research of outstanding significance into any aspect of human behavior.The research can cover various areas such as psychological, biological, and social bases of human behavior.It also includes the study of origins, development, and disorders related to human behavior.The primary aim of the journal is to increase the visibility of research in the field and enhance its societal reach and impact.