Regulating education is a vital part of government. This thesis is inspired by recent changes on the political landscape of higher education. It is guided by an interest in how political objectives and concepts of ideal social relationships are transformed and expressed through government university policies and their consequences. An early stage of what is now commonly referred to as the modern state and the modern research university, rather than present or relatively recent developments, will be explored. Instead of studying trends on the European continent, the thesis inquiries into an attempt made by the Swedish government to revise the constitutions of Swedish schools and universities through the so-called Educational Commission appointed in 1745.

The purpose of the thesis is to apply a modern policy perspective to the Educational Commission’s attempt at reforming the constitution of the Swedish universities. The aim is to illuminate the construction of university regulations and to place this within a larger framework of policy making during the Age of Liberty (Frihetstiden) in Sweden.

The Commission was an attempt by the Swedish government to implement educational changes based on a holistic view of the realm. It was one of several contemporary initiatives with nationwide ambitions. The Commission did not, however, succeed in reaching its formal objectives, but by placing too much emphasis on what the Commission did not achieve one risks overlooking other results and consequences. It initiated new communication structures, operating procedures and accountability schemes. It changed the regulations for assessing higher education making the university transparent and accountable to the government in new ways. New administrative routines for producing university reform were introduced.

The Commission also provided university actors with a legitimate channel for voicing their opinions in relation to the government. They were given a legitimate position to formulate problems, questions and solutions regarding the university. The demands of the professors for increased autonomy in seeking knowledge and providing education stood against the claims made by the government for added control and insight into academic affairs. Through the Commission, the views of the professors were put into circulation in an official political context.

The need for university reform. The educational commission’s description of the problems in Swedish higher education 1745-1751.

During the so called age of liberty in Sweden (1721-1772), demands were promptly made for concrete applications of the rather elusive idea of 'utility'. One grand expression of these claims was the educational commission appointed in 1745 to investigate whether and in which ways the Swedish educational system, including the universities, should be reformed. Previous studies have primarily focused on analyzing the commission’s reform proposal; its content, potential consequences and the response it received from Uppsala University in particular. The relationship between the commission and the universities has, moreover, almost exclusively been considered as a struggle for influence over Sweden’s higher education. This article focuses instead on the ideas of the commission regarding the need for university reform. The article aims to suggest alternative approaches for subsequent studies, however I wish to also indicate the contours of a more nuanced understanding of the intentions of the commission. The article takes as an analytical starting point the assessment made by the commission that Swedish universities failed in reaching their legitimate goal: to educate students for positions in government offices. As this failure was considered harmful for the country it was believed to be in the state’s interest to regulate the influx of students into higher education as well as the knowledge and qualifications these students should have acquired upon graduation. Previous studies have considered the commission almost exclusively as a manifestation of the principle that universities should contribute to the economic utility or welfare of the country. This article brings to the fore that while the economy was indeed important, additional attention should be given to broader political interests of the commission.