Reclaiming university sovereignty: The case for Universocracy

Reclaiming university sovereignty: The case for Universocracy

University communities have strayed from their democratic essence, breaching their social contract with society and prompting necessary calls for scrutiny. Students and faculty worldwide are protesting, highlighting this breach. Through a Rousseauian lens, this paper shows the breach occurs due to neoliberalism’s use of managerialism to usurp the rightful university sovereign body: academics, students, professional staff, and other university citizens. Managerialism infiltrates university management structures that should represent the sovereign body and make decisions based on the general will of the community. Instead, it prioritizes self-interest and the commercial sector. In a Rousseauian sense, universities fail to uphold their legitimate sovereignty. We propose a Rousseauian solution and introduce the concept of ‘Universocracy’ to demonstrate how democratic universities can operate. This framework insists that universities should be governed democratically rather than by a small group of executive managers driven by managerialism and commercial interests. Universocracy presents an alternative governance approach, challenging the false belief that there are no alternatives to managerialism. This shift is crucial to ensure higher education continues to fulfil its social contract through a rightful sovereign body of knowledgeable and empowered university citizens.