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Thousands of scientists took to the streets in Hungary on Tuesday (February 12) to protest changes to government research funding. The demonstrations, which saw people hold books above their heads and form a human chain around Budapest’s Academy of Sciences building, are just the latest in a series of clashes between researchers and the country’s populist government over academic freedom.
“This is an attack on science,” agricultural science researcher Emese Gutai tells AFP. “The government wants to reward loyalists with funding, rather than support research.”
Tension between the Hungarian government and academic institutions has been building for months. Last December, the Central European University, a Budapest-based institution founded by investor and philanthropist George Soros, announced it would be forced to move most of its programs to Vienna.
The government argued that the university had failed to comply with regulations for higher education institutions, but critics said ...
