Yale Professor Flees U.S. for Canada Over Political Climate
Jason Stanley, a Yale professor and expert on fascism, has announced his decision to leave the United States and take a position at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Citing concerns over the country’s political trajectory, Stanley stated that he made the move “to raise my kids in a country that is not tilting towards a fascist dictatorship.”
Stanley, the author of How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, linked his decision to recent events at Columbia University, which agreed to a series of federal demands to reinstate $400 million in funding. The university’s compliance included crackdowns on protests, increased security measures, and internal reviews of certain academic programs, such as the Middle Eastern studies department.
“When I saw Columbia completely capitulate, and I saw this vocabulary of, ‘Well, we’re going to work behind the scenes because we’re not going to get targeted’—that whole way of thinking presupposes that some universities will get targeted, and you don’t want to be one of those universities. And that’s just a losing strategy,” Stanley said. He argued that universities must unite against political pressure, warning that failing to do so would lead to greater losses.
Stanley expressed disappointment at the lack of a strong response from other universities, including his own institution. “Columbia was just such a warning,” he said. “I just became very worried because I didn’t see a strong enough reaction in other universities to side with Columbia. I see Yale trying not to be a target. And as I said, that’s a losing strategy.”
While he emphasized that he did not feel his academic work was at risk at Yale, Stanley noted that the broader climate against universities influenced his decision. He praised faculty members at Yale for resisting political attacks on their profession but questioned whether non-citizens could safely speak out. “How could you speak out loudly if you’re not an American citizen?” he asked. “And if you can’t speak out loudly if you’re not an American citizen, when will they come for the American citizens? It’s inevitable.”
The news of Stanley’s departure gained traction on social media, with many viewing it as a troubling sign. Nikole Hannah-Jones, journalist and creator of the 1619 Project, remarked, “When scholars of authoritarianism and fascism leave U.S. universities because of the deteriorating political situation here, we should really worry.”
Yale issued a statement affirming its commitment to academic excellence and acknowledging faculty mobility. “Yale is proud of its global faculty community which includes faculty who may no longer work at the institution, or whose contributions to academia may continue at a different home institution. Faculty members make decisions about their careers for a variety of reasons and the university respects all such decisions.”
Stanley has been vocal in warning about shifts in U.S. governance. In a recent article, he criticized a new Department of Education directive that could deem teaching about systemic racism and similar topics as civil rights violations under the Trump administration’s legal interpretations. He argued that this move placed the country “on a path to educational authoritarianism.”
He had previously considered leaving the U.S. in 2017 but said that the second Trump administration has “definitely” proven worse than the first. His work on propaganda and fascism has gained increasing attention in recent years, and he described his new role at the Munk School as an “exciting intellectual opportunity” within the framework of an “international struggle against democracy.”
Stanley dismissed the idea that he was fleeing. “I see it as joining Canada, which is a target of Trump, just like Yale is a target of Trump.” Reflecting on the historical significance of his departure, he remarked, “Part of it is you’re leaving because ultimately, it is like leaving Germany in 1932, 33, 34. There’s resonance: my grandmother left Berlin with my father in 1939. So it’s a family tradition.”
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