Dictators and the Higher Education Dilemma

State Power and the University in Modern Iran

Saeid Golkar (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

222 Seiten

2026
Rutgers University Press (Verlag)
978-1-9788-4267-0 (ISBN)

Noch nicht erschienen (ca. Juni 2026)
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Dictators and the Higher Education Dilemma explores a powerful contradiction at the heart of modern authoritarian regimes: while universities are essential for producing skilled labor and projecting national progress, they also cultivate critical thinkers who can challenge state power. Drawing on Iran's modern history, from the Pahlavi monarchy to the Islamic Republic, Saeid Golkar shows how dictators use universities not only to train technocrats and showcase development but also as tools for shaping ideology, suppressing dissent, and co-opting academics. In authoritarian systems, education becomes a double-edged sword, essential for growth, yet dangerous when it empowers independent thought. Golkar reveals how regimes manipulate admissions, censor curricula, and reward loyalty to create compliant intellectuals and loyal elites. Blending personal experience with rich historical and political analysis, this book exposes the tactics used to turn universities into instruments of social control. It speaks to a growing trend worldwide, offering vital insights into the clash between authoritarian power and academic freedom from Iran to China, Russia, and beyond.

Saeid Golkar is the UC Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and a senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. He is the author of Captive Society: The Basij Militia and Social Control in Iran.

Erscheint lt. Verlag	9.6.2026
Verlagsort	New Brunswick NJ
Sprache	englisch
Maße	140 x 216 mm
Gewicht	454 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Erwachsenenbildung
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Staat / Verwaltung
ISBN-10	1-9788-4267-8 / 1978842678
ISBN-13	978-1-9788-4267-0 / 9781978842670
Zustand	Neuware