Students under Attack:
Who Represses Them, and Who Protects Them?
Abstract
University student activism is facing increasing repression worldwide. This article reviews the
“Activism under Attack” report published by the Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International
Assistance Fund in 2024. The report shows that, while activism is becoming more diverse and
digitally mediated, repression against activists is intensifying, even in countries considered
democratic. Governments and universities are deploying increasingly stringent legal and
institutional sanctions to constrain student political engagement. In times of democratic backlash,
who defends universities’ civic and academic freedoms, and how?
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