Gripped by managerialism's claw: Power, policy, and resistance in the neoliberal university

Gripped by managerialism's claw: Power, policy, and resistance in the neoliberal university

Unveiling the complex apparatus of power and resistance within the university system, this thesis examines how institutional policies have transformed universities from bastions of scholarly pursuit into corporatised entities, driven by neoliberal ideologies. Modern universities now mirror business enterprises, with vice-chancellors resembling chief executive officers and an overarching focus on performance metrics over intellectual enrichment. This transformation has not only restructured governance but also deepened the policy-practice divide, igniting vigorous debates about the dominance of managerial logic at the expense of academic freedom and integrity. Organised by publication, this thesis integrates three peer-reviewed studies to dissect these transformations through both theoretical and empirical lenses, offering a critical examination of the underlying apparatus of power. They identify that policy has become a faith construct, a complex interplay of faith, hope and doubt as the academy navigates the dissonance forming misalignment of managerial and academic values expressed in policy. The nuanced power structures underpinning these tensions are revealed through a Foucauldian lens and the reflective, novel, arts-based collage methodology. Visualising the hidden apparatus of power reveals its obscured mechanisms within university governance. Intertwined with ethnographic observations, the profound influence of top-down leadership on the university’s policy and practice is highlighted through the world of puppetry. Study findings provide substantial insight into how institutional policies are co-opted by the ever present and ruthless presence of managerialism in the evolving discourse on university governance and highlight the chaotic calibration often inherent in contemporary leadership styles, drawing parallels between these structures and monarchies. Looking ahead, this thesis calls for a deeper empirical exploration into the often-obscured power structures within neoliberal universities, champions the expansion of innovative, arts-based research methodologies to examine complex phenomena such as power and resistance and places a challenge for the academy to influence a return to scholarly and educational missions.

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