Education as a Political Institution

Education institutions are fundamentally political. They mold political values, shape inequality, create opportunities for patronage through teaching jobs, and can even be used for political surveillance. Yet most political science research treats education as just another welfare-enhancing public service, leaving key puzzles unresolved, such as why some countries have universal schooling but low skills, and why both autocracies and democracies invest heavily in indoctrination. In this article, I reconceptualize education systems as inherently political institutions with four distinctive features. Then, based on a review of research since the early 2000s, I demonstrate how the study of education—reconceptualized as I propose—yields unique insights into core political phenomena such as state building, nationalism, conflict, and regime politics. Finally, I identify and discuss two central questions for future research: Why do governments choose different combinations of education access and quality? How do education policies shape political outcomes beyond participation, including social order, preferences for redistribution, and democratic stability? The field is ripe for inquiry.