This paper develops Epistemic Clientelism Theory, analysing how academic institutions systematically delegate epistemic agency through clientelist exchange. It diagnoses fiduciary breaches, democratic failures, and epistemic injustices, and proposes fiduciary-epistemic governance reforms to restore autonomy and accountability.

In this paper, I critically examine institutional epistemic gatekeepers—including academic platforms such as PhilPapers, JSTOR, major publishers, and academic repositories—as fiduciaries entrusted with safeguarding epistemic diversity, justice, and integrity.