https://theloop.ecpr.eu/democracy-in-academia-the-not-so-wanted-child/ ECPR's Political Science Blog Wed, 10 Sep 2025 10:43:06 +0000 hourly 1 https://theloop.ecpr.eu/democracy-in-academia-the-not-so-wanted-child/#comment-52327 Wed, 10 Sep 2025 10:43:06 +0000 https://theloop.ecpr.eu/?p=23786#comment-52327 True, the managerial control of universities, in line with models of neoliberal governance, poses a greater risk of transitioning into a more autocratic type of control, where not only tenure requirements, disciplinary borders, and organisational structures, but also the research content itself and the ideas that circulate in academia are strictly monitored. Recent developments in the US show that those who control the purse can perform this transformation even when universities have relative autonomy and even when legal protections are in place. How universities choose to navigate this crisis brings to the fore who their leadership are, how it is selected and appointed and how representative it is of the different stakeholders within each institution. A democratically organised university is not only more inclusive and fair, but also more legitimate and credible as a public force of critique.

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