CAFA and Scholars at Risk convened a webinar to reflect on key lessons in responding to democratic backsliding and attacks on academic freedom.
On March 4, 2026, the Coalition for Academic Freedom in the Americas (CAFA), in collaboration with Scholars at Risk (SAR), held the webinar “Strategies of Resistance: Lessons learned from the defense of academic freedom and democracy in Brazil.” The event brought together voices from academia and civil society to examine the impact of democratic erosion in Brazil—particularly during the 2019–2022 period—and to share strategies of resistance in the face of these challenges.
The discussion explored how human rights, academic freedom, and democracy networks responded to institutional and political pressures affecting universities, scholars, and civic space. It also highlighted innovative strategies that proved effective in countering these threats, with the aim of offering useful lessons for contexts around the world facing similar dynamics.
Opening the event, Camilla Croso, Regional Director of CAFA, defined academic freedom as “a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of democratic life.” She emphasized that academic freedom is not only an individual right held by scholars, but also a collective right belonging to students and society as a whole, essential for the production of rigorous, evidence-based knowledge.
Croso warned that the erosion of academic freedom weakens universities’ ability to contribute to public debate and undermines one of society’s most vital spaces for critical inquiry and the pursuit of truth. She pointed to Brazil’s recent experience as a clear example of institutional dismantling, marked by political interference, harassment of scholars, and restrictions on civic space.
The panel featured Kim Lane Scheppele, Professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University, who moderated the discussion; Conrado Hübner Mendes, constitutional law expert; and Flávia Pellegrino, from Pacto pela Democracia. Speakers reflected on the nature of the attacks faced and the forms of resilience that emerged in response.
The discussion underscored that, while Brazil experienced a significant decline in academic freedom, it also demonstrated the strength of coordinated collective resistance. Through social mobilization, institutional action, and democratic mechanisms, a range of actors were able to push back against authoritarian advances—offering important lessons for the current global context.
The webinar reaffirmed the urgency of defending academic freedom at a time when democratic backsliding, threats to university autonomy, and attacks on scholars, students, and institutions are on the rise worldwide.