Finnish academics launch campaign against political influence in research

September 21, 2026 at 04:00 AM2 min

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Finnish academics and research organisations launched a Freedom to Research campaign on 21 September 2026, warning that political and economic influence over research has strengthened. The coalition, including the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities, demands politicians explain how they will protect academic freedom ahead of spring 2027 parliamentary elections. The move follows Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman's refusal to fund nine peer-reviewed social work research projects.

Key Facts

The Freedom to Research campaign was launched by a coalition including the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities, the Finnish Union of University Professors, and the Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in Finland.
Finland will hold parliamentary elections in spring 2027.
Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman refused to fund nine social work research projects that had been approved by an expert panel.
Documents obtained by Yle showed Rydman awarded funding to projects with lower peer review scores than many rejected projects.
Several universities have challenged Rydman's decisions, saying the peer-review process was bypassed.

Campaign Demands

The coalition will press politicians to spell out how they plan to defend the freedom and independence of research and researchers, secure long-term research funding, and strengthen the use of research-based knowledge in decision-making. Heikki Holopainen, executive director of Unifi, said the academic community is deeply concerned by harassment of researchers and by politicians' disparagement of and interventions in research. Researchers in gender studies, cultural studies, and environmental studies have faced personal attacks on social media, especially when discussing their work in public. Holopainen noted that personal attacks on academics have been happening for a while, but more worrying is that more politicians in populist parties are taking part.

Funding Controversy

Holopainen said scholars are concerned that a growing share of research funding is being directed towards specific fields or political priorities. He pointed to the refusal by Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman, a member of the right-wing populist Finns Party, to fund nine social work research projects at several Finnish universities that had been approved by an expert panel. Documents obtained by Finnish broadcaster Yle showed that Rydman had instead awarded funding to projects that had received lower peer review scores than many of the rejected projects. Several universities have since challenged the decisions, saying that the peer-review process had been bypassed. Rydman has defended his actions, saying peer review is not 'heavenly truth'.