In order to speak about the future one must first recognise the contemporary moment, as it is the contemporary moment that indicates the future — Alexandre Kojève
UNIVERSITIES as places of higher learning have much to say about the future. They talk about AI advancements, new technologies and future skills. Neoliberal universities, however, rarely address the deep-rooted crises of contemporary times. There seems to be a significant disconnect between the everyday realities within a university and those outside it. This is especially troubling in disruptive times like the ones we live in.
I write as a peace scholar who is simultaneously witnessing a critical moment in history and routine academic life inside universities. Global higher education is experiencing deep structural and financial strain. Universities in the UK for example, are facing serious financial turmoil, yet our local universities continue to import their failing neoliberal agendas. Academic institutions in both places seem to have lost touch with the current unsettling realities.
Many scholars of international relations and peace studies view the current moment as a paradigm-shifting moment in history. We see collapse and chaos all around with brutal genocides in Gaza, Sudan, and Congo, senseless wars in Iran, West Asia, and Ukraine, and illegal interventions in Venezuela and Cuba. Some view the current events as an end to the America-led order, while others view them as the collapse of the post-World War II international rules-based order and the rise of a multipolar or a pluriversal order. Some observers, such as Owen Jones, see a bigger collapse of Western dominance. Some describe the present turmoil as the end of capitalism itself.
What is happening in our universities as the world falls apart?
An ecological collapse is another reality of the present times. The UN has warned of “a point of no return” as we cross the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit in the next few years. The death toll from climate disasters continues to rise, with the devastation caused by the glacier collapse in Nepal, the agonising heatwaves in Europe, and the forest fires in Indonesia, Algeria, Canada, and Europe. But all this does not stop capitalist greed, which continues to create a global climate emergency.
So what is happening in our universities as the world falls apart? Lost in the ranking race, they appear inundated with papers, conferences, and funded projects as publication numbers skyrocket, citation scores pile up, and academics are told they cannot pause or they will perish. Hence, the meaning and purpose of knowledge seem to be lost in neoliberal academia. AI adds further layers to the meaningless reproduction of knowledge. Despite an intensifying climate emergency, big tech companies continue to sell visions of AI futures, and universities continue to impose narratives about AI inevitability as if its massive environmental footprint is a secondary issue. We are facing urgent questions about the role of academia in supporting harmful extractive logics that lead to an ecological collapse. There are also serious questions about universities’ complicity in ongoing genocides as evident in the case of student protests for Gaza, which were brutally suppressed by big universities. However, instead of addressing such pressing questions, universities continue to reinforce “the very logic that produced the crises”.
Urgent and fundamental transformation in our way of thinking is needed. Educational spaces offer hope. They must indulge in greater deliberation to reimagine the future. Decolonial imagination
has recently gained traction across global academia and social movements. Decolonial thinking questions modern paradigms of rationality that view knowledge as private property and research as data extraction. Instead, it explores indigenous knowledge systems based on relationality.
Indigenous cultures have survived on this planet for thousands of years without sophisticated theories of survival and security. They have lived respectfully with the Earth without any technical knowledge of sustainability. The present moment demands that universities pause. They must also halt the ranking race and think about deeper, fundamental questions, such as what is the purpose of knowledge creation?
Individual success cannot be the purpose of knowledge creation in times of collective failure. The academic fixation with publication metrics is a distraction from the real purpose of knowledge creation, which lies in addressing the grave crises of our times. If universities wish to remain relevant in the future, they must redirect their energies towards building livable futures for all.
The writer is director, Centre for Critical Peace Studies at the University of Management & Technology & founder of The Pluriversity Lahore.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2026
