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In fascist ideology, only one viewpoint is legitimate. Colleges are meant to introduce students to the dominant culture and its mythic past. Education therefore either poses a grave threat to fascism or becomes a pillar of support for the mythical nation. It’s no wonder, then, that cultural clashes on campuses represent a true political battleground and receive national attention. The stakes are high.

Fascism is about a hierarchy ordered by the dominant perspective, and so, during fascist moments, there is strong support for figures who denounce disciplines that teach perspectives other than the dominant ones — such as gender studies, or, in the United States, African-American studies or Middle Eastern studies.

According to fascist politics, universities subvert masculinity and undermine the traditional family. In Russia, Vladimir Putin has gone on the offensive on this issue, repurposing universities into ideological weapons directed against the supposed Western excesses of feminism. 

In fascist ideology, the function of the education system is to glorify the mythic past, obscuring the perspectives and histories of those who do not belong.

When Viktor Orban assumed power, he condemned universities as sites for liberal indoctrination.

Across the world right now, we see right-wing movements attacking universities for spreading "Marxism" and "feminism" and failing to give a central place to far-right values.

History suggests that when the central government targets universities in ways we are now witnessing in the United States, it is a signal of encroaching authoritarianism. We would do well to take such signals both literally and seriously, if we are to preserve what history teaches is a bulwark against authoritarianism — a vibrant, robust, and independent university system.

Jason Stanley in Fascism and the University