Towards a New Model of Governance for Universities? : A Comparative View

Providing a comparative overview of developments in the governance of universities since the 1980s, the book assesses if, to what extent, and with what success recent changes in state intervention have transformed the political and organizational management of universities.

Drawing on case studies of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, the United States and Switzerland, the book demonstrates the varied impact of increased state intervention on higher education, and explores why countries like Italy have been much less affected by the "new managerialism" than the United Kingdom.

It highlights in particular the major changes in some countries in the 1990s that represent a significant shift in the level of state intervention.Both the political attempts at regulation and the internal processes of various higher education institutions are examined for their role in the implementation of new managerialist ideas, as is the importance of political, institutional and cultural variables.

The book argues that new managerialism is a new form of state intervention whose impact is dependent not only on national variables but on the academics themselves.