"Michael Ignatieff, who was rector of the Central European University between 2016 and 2021, when the institution was expelled from Viktor Orbán's Hungary, said the Hungarian prime minister had provided enormous inspiration to politicians around the world. Speaking at the Going Global conference, Ignatieff, also a former opposition leader in Canada, said Orbán was "the master" who had learned that controlling the universities that recruit and train elites means they can eventually control the political system."
""We're in a political battle. We cannot assume that the higher education sector in any of our countries is secure going forward. If the higher education sector can be attacked in the United States, let me tell you folks, it can be attacked anywhere," he added. "This sector has enemies. The American experience has shattered my confidence that the sector that I've spent my entire life in is safe.""
The Central European University was expelled from Viktor Orbán's Hungary and relocated to Austria. Orbán provided enormous inspiration to politicians internationally. Authoritarian populists recognize universities' strategic importance for recruiting and training elites, enabling eventual control of political systems and ideological influence across society. Pressure on U.S. universities under the Trump administration demonstrates the vulnerability of higher education globally. Higher education has been likened to watching a storm on the horizon, raising questions about when political attacks will reach the sector. The American experience has reduced confidence in the sector's security and revealed that the sector has enemies.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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