On May 5, 2025, US President Donald Trump suspended over $2 billion in federal research funding to Harvard, prompting the university to sue to protect essential medical and scientific projects. Harvard is only one of many US universities targeted with similar funding freezes. The Trump administration alleges non-compliance with its demands to abolish Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies as well as lackluster resistance by university administrations against what the government sees as antisemitism on campus.
This showdown is part of a broadside by the Trump administration against institutions and supposed liberal power centers that raises questions about the extent of academic freedom and freedom of speech under its leadership. Many interpret Trump’s tussle with universities as part of an authoritarian playbook that also has broader implications for scholarly independence in Germany, Europe, and elsewhere.
Input:
Prof. Daniel Ziblatt, Eaton Professor of the Science of Government and Director of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES), Harvard University; Coauthor of How Democracies Die
A discussion will follow in which Prof. Ziblatt will be joined by:
Prof. Jessica Gienow-Hecht, Chair of the History Department at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North America Studies, Freie Universität Berlin
Moderator:
Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, Otto Wolff Director, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
Welcoming remarks:
Rachel Tausendfreund, Senior Fellow for USA/Transatlantic Relations, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)
This event is part of the new series Remaking America? Contesting Visions from Trump and Beyond, a cooperation between DGAP and the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script” (SCRIPTS) at Freie Universität Berlin. The series features leading thinkers, scholars, and policy voices from the United States who assess the emerging ideas and factions reshaping American democracy and foreign policy and their consequences for Germany and Europe.
If you have any questions, please contact events@dgap.org. We look forward to your participation and a lively discussion.
