Counter-extremism, institutional chaos and education: A post-historical perspective

Drawing on findings from a project into multi-agency practice around the introduction of the Prevent duty in UK schools, this paper explores a ‘post-historical institutionalist’ identity for professionals working between the institutions of security and education.

Drawn from the policing and teaching sectors, with career trajectories often reflecting a particular ‘moment’ in the stripping back of the administrative state, this presentation draws on Alexandre Kojeve’s concept of the post-historical, to nuance historical institutionalist analysis for the contemporary education sector. Theorising a post-historical state for educational reform, the paper reflects on the spaces for agency which are opened up and closed down by the intermingling of political, societal and security sectors in the educational space.