Education or Indoctrination? The Violent Origins of Public School Systems in an Era of State-Building

Why do modern states regulate and provide mass education? This article proposes a theory of education as a state-building tool that is deployed when mass violence threatens the state’s viability. Experiencing mass violence can increase national elites’ concern about the masses’ moral character and/or the efficacy of repression or concessions alone to maintain social order. Under such circumstances, a mass education system designed to teach obedience can become an attractive policy tool to prevent future rebellion and promote long-term social order. Consistent with the theory, I detect a cross-national pattern of primary education expansion following civil wars in Europe and Latin America. In a complementary study of the 1859 Chilean civil war, I show that the central government responded by expanding primary schooling in rebel provinces not as a concession but to teach obedience and respect for authority. The theory helps explain why non-democracies often expanded mass education.现代国家为何会对大众教育进行规制并提供支持？本文提出一套将教育作为国家建设工具的理论：当大规模暴力威胁国家存续时，国家便会动用这一工具。经历大规模暴力事件后，国家精英可能会愈发担忧民众的道德品性，抑或是意识到仅依靠镇压或让步无法维持社会秩序。在此情形下，旨在传授服从理念的大众教育体系，便会成为防范未来叛乱、维系长期社会秩序的颇具吸引力的政策工具。与该理论相符，本文观察到欧洲与拉美诸国在内战结束后均出现初等教育扩张的跨国模式。在针对1859年智利内战的补充研究中，本文进一步证实，中央政府在叛乱省份扩张初等教育规模，并非出于让步考量，而是为了教导民众服从与尊重权威。该理论有助于解释为何非民主政体往往会推进大众教育的扩张。