Scholars warn that decades of political repression and censorship have left Iran’s higher-education system weakened but not entirely hollowed out, with remaining academic capacity that could support rebuilding if political conditions change. Outside experts say politically appointed managers have hollowed out institutional governance and that reconstruction would demand institutional, not merely intellectual, reforms. Separately, a U.S. inspector general’s report on Afghanistan concluded that many post‑2001 reconstruction efforts aimed at expanding women’s roles in public life—including education—were fragmented and unsustainable; the reversal of women’s public participation since 2021 has had immediate and long-term consequences for nation-building and higher-education access. Both accounts stress that restoring robust, independent academic institutions will require protection for scholars and systemic institutional reform.