ABSTRACT This article examines the ideological repurposing of institutions of higher management education (IHMEs) from a systems‐theoretical perspective. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems, we analyse both historical and contemporary cases to identify structural similarities in how institutions of higher education (IHEs) have been reoriented to serve external political imperatives. Through a functional comparison of Soviet, Nazi and nationalist regimes with current trends in sustainability‐ and DEI‐driven transformations, we argue that repurposing efforts operate through similar mechanisms: modifications of personnel structures, communication channels, decision programmes and organisational culture. We conceptualise IHE as multifunctional organisations that mediate structural couplings between various function systems, particularly science, education and politics. Our analysis shows that when decision programmes become aligned too tightly with the logic of powerful political organisations, IHEs risk losing their operational autonomy and functional distinctiveness. The paper concludes by warning that even well‐intentioned missions may lead to epistemic closure and ideological totalisation if historical lessons are neglected.
Roth et al. (Wed,) studied this question.