Research Under Pressure: U.S. Academic Freedom, Security Scrutiny, and Europe’s Strategic Response

This study explores how recent U.S. science policy shifts which led to severe funding cuts, tightened compliance requirements, and growing political interference, have influenced researcher perceptions and mobility, and how the European Union has responded strategically. The study focuses on 2025 as a turning point in transatlantic research dynamics and is anchored in the Presence-Opportunity-Capability (POC) framework, as well as complemented by a push-pull mobility lens. Methodologically, the research employs qualitative design, combining documentary analysis of the U.S. and E.U. policy texts with semi-structured interviews conducted with U.S.-based researchers and a professor engaged in Scholars at Risk network. Data were thematically coded into four categories: push factors in the U.S., pull factors in the EU, barrier to mobility, and the EU’s strategic response. The findings show that push factors dominated interviewee narratives, particularly due to the instability brought about by funding cuts, grant cancellations, and political scrutiny. At the same time, EU pull factors and strategic responses were substantial, with Horizon Europe and initiatives such as Choose France for Science perceived as offering stability and academic freedom protections. Barriers such as visa and bureaucratic challenges were noted but remained secondary. Overall, the thesis argues that the EU is leveraging its structural presence, taking advantage of the reduced priority the U.S. places on scientific research and higher education, and showing capability through focused initiatives which demonstrates the EU positioning itself as an emerging global hub for research and academic freedom.