The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has deep concerns about the US Government’s moves to place conditions on and withdraw funding from collaborative international research activities.
Academy President Professor Kate Darian-Smith FASSA said that the move could create significant challenges, with potentially negative consequences for both Australia and the US in bilateral and multilateral research programs in areas including health, economic development, education, energy, and national security.
“The move to place politically and ideologically motivated limitations on international research collaboration is particularly worrying,” said Professor Darian-Smith. “We’ve seen media reports this week of a withdrawal of US support for social science and related research projects at six Australian universities on account of alleged Marxist, transgender, green or ‘woke’ agendas.
“The Trump Administration is apparently seeking to impose its own recently adopted policies with parties across the world, and in doing so is rejecting the importance of international collaboration and of diversity, equity and inclusion in research projects and contributions.”
This is occurring despite serious and unresolved questions about the legality of such measures. Speaking with the Australian Financial Review, Academy Fellow and constitutional law expert Professor Rosalind Dixon FASSA noted that for Australian universities, collaboration with the US may become an impossible task given the conflict between compliance with differing US and Australian Government rules and policies.
“A century of international research collaboration has driven advances in knowledge and understanding of the world and of society that underpin the good health, modern conveniences, stable democracies, and freedoms that many of us enjoy today,” said Professor Darian-Smith.
“The US and Australia collaborate because collaboration is in the best interests of both countries.
In social science fields such as economics, education, psychology and human society, the estimated value of research funded jointly by Australian and US parties was over $100M in 2024, and almost $600M over the past decade.
“For the US to undermine the fabric of such collaborations at a time when our world is facing some of its biggest challenges will not only cause significant economic setbacks to Australia and other close US allies, it will hurt the US, and diminish the leadership both nations can offer” said Professor Darian-Smith.
“Research is a global endeavour, and knowledge is for the good of all. No country has a monopoly on the best researchers, the best infrastructure, or the best research institutions. The US position as the world’s leading research country has been under challenge for a number of years. Isolating US researchers internationally will contribute to that decline, not arrest it.
“The Academy urges the Australian Government to prioritise diplomatic efforts to mitigate this move and to facilitate continuation of the strong tradition of unimpeded research collaboration on issues that are central to both the security and prosperity of Australia and the US, and to our standing in the international community”.
ENDS