Diaspora of Dissent: Why US Scientists Are Fleeing to Europe?

Researcher Jason Stanley recently made headlines for leaving the Department of Political Science at renowned Yale University and continuing his academic career abroad. His research into fascism showed him that the political climate at research universities in the U.S. since Trump was elected is becoming concerningly autocratic. Complicity with his administration is vital to receive governmental funding, which has been scarce since Trump took office.

Taking a closer look at why Jason Stanley left Yale reveals how academic freedom is weakening in the U.S. and how Europe might be profiting from this development.

In his second term, President Donald Trump puts science skepticism into practice. For years, Trump has been discrediting research institutions and their findings, for instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he is taking it a step further by defunding them. The National Scientific Foundation (NSF) funds were cut in half in January when compared to the same period last year (3). Across domains, the NSF is used to fund most research projects at American universities and research institutions, including labs, infrastructure, and salaries. Not anymore. The same goes for the National Institute of Health (NIH) which focuses on biomedical research, whose funding has been reduced by 15% already. (Sainato, 2025).

Next to that, Trump cuts budgets from universities directly when they do not follow his agenda. A prominent example was Columbia University who were defunded by 400 million dollars following pro-Palestinian protests on campus. After implementing governmental demands the funds were returned (Donadel, 2025). This is a scary example of how the new political climate pressures universities to align their values with the Trump administration to continue their work. Is this still a democratic system?

Concerns regarding this question are the reason that Jason Stanley is not the only researcher leaving American universities.

A recent poll indicated that roughly 75% of U.S. scientists are contemplating leaving their home country to pursue their careers elsewhere (Witze, 2025). Their first destination? Europe or Canada.

This diaspora of highly educated and motivated researchers creates a massive potential for growth elsewhere. What Trump overlooks is that investing in science might not lead to immediate profits but rather generate long-term returns that might multiply the initial investment up to 5 times (Vergano, 2025).

Photo by Barbara Burgess on Unsplash

Microsoft once started with the support of governmental funds and is now a multi-billion tech company. The rapid economic growth in America is to a large extent, related to the scientific growth during the 20th century. Although the U.S. government might have forgotten it, this growth is directly linked to the migration of international scientists to American research universities. This started in the 1930s and 1940s when intellectuals fled the autocratic Third Reich in Germany and has endured ever since. A 2022 study found that immigrants, though under 20% of the U.S. population, have driven 36% of innovation since 1990 and are more likely than natives to launch or work at start-ups (Hiller, 2025; Vergano, 2025).

Now the tables have turned. Americans are fleeing their home country to share their expertise in a more just and democratic system. A potential that needs to be used. Instead of concentrating on restricting immigration policies, Europe should create conditions that make it attractive for highly skilled individuals to settle in Europe. Unity should be the basis of growth, especially in uncertain times. A mantra that the U.S. used to know about and profited immensely from. It is now time for others to not only understand this, but more importantly implement it.

References

1- Donadel, A. (2025, April 1). Without warning, Harvard and Princeton are facing big

funding threats. University Business. https://universitybusiness.com/how-trump-is-

impacting-higher-education-in-his-second-term/

2- Hiller, J. (2025, March 12). Trump’s assault on US universities: five views from the

chainsaw’s teeth. Times Higher Education

(THE). https://www.timeshighereducation.com/depth/trumps-assault-us-universities-five-

views-chainsaws-teeth

3- Mervis, J. (2025, March 31). NSF Has Awarded Almost 50% Fewer Grants since Trump

Took Office. Science. www.science.org/content/article/nsf-has-awarded-almost-50-

fewer-grants-trump-took-office, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.zg2z39a.

4- Sainato, M. (2025b, March 8). Chaos on campuses as schools warn Trump cuts could

harm US ‘for decades.’ The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-

news/2025/mar/08/trump-universities-higher-education-cuts

5- Vergano, D. (2025, March 31). Top U.S. Researchers Warn against ‘Climate of Fear’

Threatening Science. Scientific American.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/top-u-s-researchers-warn-against-climate-of-

fear-threatening-science/

6- Witze, A. (2025). 75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider

leaving. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00938-y

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