Between Self-Image, Geopolitics and the Role of the University

Europe has long preferred to imagine itself as a beacon of rationality, human rights and democratic stability. Within that self-understanding, universities occupy a central position: they are cast as places where independent inquiry and socially relevant knowledge meet. Strategic documents speak of science as a force for addressing complex societal challenges and strengthening the fabric of society. And yet, this carefully maintained image increasingly sits uneasily with the world as it is experienced.

Beneath the language of inclusion, cooperation and progress, subtle fractures begin to reveal themselves. Polarisation deepens, geopolitical tensions intensify, and trust in institutions erodes—quietly, persistently. Europe does not appear to be entering a sudden crisis. Rather, it seems to be living through a slow, almost imperceptible accumulation of tensions, one that resists easy recognition.

The Externalisation of Conflict

A recurring feature of European discourse is the tendency to situate conflict elsewhere. Wars and tensions in the Middle East, including those involving Iran, are often treated as distant phenomena—contained, external, and therefore only indirectly relevant. Yet this distinction is more fragile than it appears.

Migration flows, ideological exchanges and transnational networks blur the boundary between the external and the internal. What unfolds elsewhere rarely remains there. And still, even as policy documents acknowledge a world marked by rapid change and contradiction, the implications of this interconnectedness often remain curiously abstract.

What emerges is a form of institutional disconnection: complexity is recognised, but its consequences are not fully inhabited. The language of awareness exists, yet it seldom compels decisive engagement. This becomes visible, for instance, in how campus debates around international conflicts flare up intensely, while institutional responses remain cautious and procedural, often avoiding substantive positioning.

Universities Between Ideal and Reality

It is within universities that this tension becomes particularly visible. They continue to present themselves as spaces of openness—safe, inclusive environments in which ideas may be exchanged freely. At the same time, they increasingly find........

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