By Ceasefire Bites

The controversy over David Held and his links to Saif al-Islam Gaddafi for a short time exposed the corporate nature of the present British university system.

The connections of Professor Held and the LSE to the Gaddafi family may have been too close (on moral grounds they were, but university policies are rarely decided on morality), and Lord Chief Justice Woolf may criticize both the academic and the LSE for a lapse in judgment, but this sort of partnership between authoritarian regimes and celebrated academics is not unusual in British higher education.

In fact, it is encouraged as good business practice as our columnist Paul Schloss will show in a two-part essay, due to be published next week in Ceasefire.

Ceasefire Bites is Ceasefire's news and opinion blog.