The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville

Ali Yalçın

doi:10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827

The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville

Abstract

This study examines how education was used as a control mechanism in the processes of colonialism and slavery within the framework of Alexis de Tocqueville's views. The research was conducted through document analysis and analysed on the basis of Tocqueville's works and the literature on the subject. Colonialism functioned not only as a means of economic and political domination but also as a mechanism of cultural transformation and ideological domination through education. While evaluating France's educational policies in Algeria, Tocqueville stated that education was used to assimilate colonial peoples in line with Western values and to legitimise colonial rule. However, the fact that these policies were not adopted by the local population and the discriminatory nature of the education system reveal that education was part of the strategy to ensure the continuity of the colonial order. Tocqueville also discussed the economic and social effects of the abolition of slavery but emphasised the limited ability of freed slaves to adapt to social life through education. In this context, the study shows that education in the processes of colonialism and slavery was not only a tool for the transfer of knowledge but also functioned as a mechanism of sovereignty that ensured social control and reinforced existing power relations.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Regional Studies, History of Empires, Imperialism and Colonialism

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Ali Yalçın ^*
0000-0001-8421-3924
Türkiye

Publication Date

August 28, 2025

Submission Date

March 16, 2025

Acceptance Date

July 31, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 2 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA36AR33YX

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Yalçın, A. (2025). The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice, 2(1), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827

AMA

1.Yalçın A. The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice. 2025;2(1):43-55. doi:10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827

Chicago

Yalçın, Ali. 2025. “The Use of Education As a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville”. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice 2 (1): 43-55. https://doi.org/10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827.

EndNote

Yalçın A (August 1, 2025) The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice 2 1 43–55.

IEEE

[1]A. Yalçın, “The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville”, Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 43–55, Aug. 2025, doi: 10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827.

ISNAD

Yalçın, Ali. “The Use of Education As a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville”. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice 2/1 (August 1, 2025): 43-55. https://doi.org/10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827.

JAMA

1.Yalçın A. The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice. 2025;2:43–55.

MLA

Yalçın, Ali. “The Use of Education As a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville”. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice, vol. 2, no. 1, Aug. 2025, pp. 43-55, doi:10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827.

Vancouver

1.Ali Yalçın. The Use of Education as a Control Mechanism in the Process of Colonialism and Slavery: A Study on the Views of Alexis de Tocqueville. Journal of Humanity, Peace and Justice. 2025 Aug. 1;2(1):43-55. doi:10.26650/hupej.2025.2.1.1658827