Mats Benner – författare

Svensk högre utbildning och forskning har med viss regelbundenhet omformats i grunden av högskolereformer. På senare tid har det tillsatts många statliga utredningar som inte resulterat i faktiska reformer. Varför står inte högskolepolitiken högre upp på den politiska dagordningen? Om Sverige ska kunna titulera sig »kunskapsnation« i framtiden är högskolepolitiska förändringar nödvändiga.

I den här rapporten analyserar Mats Benner och Sylvia Schwaag-Serger utvecklingen av svensk högskolepolitik under efterkrigstiden. Författarna visar att förutsättningarna för högskolereformer historiskt varit en kombination av social mobilisering, expertis, institutionell anpassning och, inte minst, djupgående teknologisk förändring. Befinner vi oss i en sådan tid idag? Omställningen mot hållbarhet och inkludering i en instabil värld pekar på det, enligt författarna som landar i några förslag som skulle kunna lägga grunden för en revitalisering av svensk högskolepolitisk debatt och praktik.

Mats Benner och Sylvia Schwaag-Serger är båda professorer i forskningspolitik vid Lunds universitet.

Rapporten är en del i SNS treåriga forskningsprojekt »Högre utbildning och forskning«.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the surge of populism, the climate crisis and many other destabilizing factors in our time, all point at the expectation of trustworthy knowledge and reliable organization devoted to knowledge production and dissemination. However, universities remain enmeshed in economic liberalization and ensuing cultural struggles where their funding, governance and practices reflect market imprints – even academic ideals such as originality, or social ideals such as relevance have been transformed into measurable units and thereby risk losing their historical sway. This predicament is the focus of this book.

The book explores the rise of neo-liberalization in academic system in a highly unlikely place: Sweden, a country with a strong social democratic tradition and a long history of state regulation of higher education. As an advanced welfare state with a powerful labour movement and a large public sector, market ideals and practices have been carefully curtailed historically. This notwithstanding, a neoliberal university model has evolved there, reshaping notions of academic identities, institutional directions and notions of quality. This edited collection will be of value to researchers, academics and students with an interest in organizational studies, governance, management, higher education, sociology and politics.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the surge of populism, the climate crisis and many other destabilizing factors in our time, all point at the expectation of trustworthy knowledge and reliable organization devoted to knowledge production and dissemination. However, universities remain enmeshed in economic liberalization and ensuing cultural struggles where their funding, governance and practices reflect market imprints – even academic ideals such as originality, or social ideals such as relevance have been transformed into measurable units and thereby risk losing their historical sway. This predicament is the focus of this book.

The book explores the rise of neo-liberalization in academic system in a highly unlikely place: Sweden, a country with a strong social democratic tradition and a long history of state regulation of higher education. As an advanced welfare state with a powerful labour movement and a large public sector, market ideals and practices have been carefully curtailed historically. This notwithstanding, a neoliberal university model has evolved there, reshaping notions of academic identities, institutional directions and notions of quality. This edited collection will be of value to researchers, academics and students with an interest in organizational studies, governance, management, higher education, sociology and politics.

With business schools becoming increasingly market-driven, questionable trends have emerged, such as the conflation of academic and corporate management, and the notion that academics and students are market players, who respond rationally to market signals.

Using individual studies from leading scholars in a variety of disciplines and countries, this book identifies the global pressures behind these trends. It focuses on the debates surrounded the commercialization of business schools, and the rise of different methods of measuring their success. In their unique approach, the authors and editors discuss the impact of the confrontation between the timeless values embodied by Minerva, the Roman goddess of Wisdom, and the hard realities of competition and corporatization in modern society.

This book will be compelling reading for students and academics in critical management studies, organizational studies, public management and higher education, as well as for stakeholders in academia and educational policy.

With business schools becoming increasingly market-driven, questionable trends have emerged, such as the conflation of academic and corporate management, and the notion that academics and students are market players, who respond rationally to market signals.

Using individual studies from leading scholars in a variety of disciplines and countries, this book identifies the global pressures behind these trends. It focuses on the debates surrounded the commercialization of business schools, and the rise of different methods of measuring their success. In their unique approach, the authors and editors discuss the impact of the confrontation between the timeless values embodied by Minerva, the Roman goddess of Wisdom, and the hard realities of competition and corporatization in modern society.

This book will be compelling reading for students and academics in critical management studies, organizational studies, public management and higher education, as well as for stakeholders in academia and educational policy.

Leading experts across a range of field including macroeconomics, politics, economic history, social policy, linguistics and global economic relations address key issues emerging from the crisis. They consider whether a new era in interactions between state, society and markets is actually dawning, and whether the finance-led economic growth model will be transformed into a new and more stable model. The role of the crisis in economy, polity and society, in shaking up existing institutional regimes and in paving the way for new ones is also discussed. Post-crisis combinations of state-society-economy relations are identified, and the question of whether the crisis has led to the reconsideration of economic relations and their institutional embeddedness is explored.

This challenging book will provide a thought provoking read for academics, students and researchers focusing on economics, political science and sociology. Policymakers in the fields of economic, industrial and social policy will also find this book to be an informative point of reference.

Contributors: R.E. Backhouse, M. Benner, R. Boyer, A.W. Gustafsson, F. Hansen, B. Jessop, L. Jonung, J. Lindvall, Å. Lundqvist, B.-Å. Lundvall, L. Schön, N.-L. Sum, J. Svensson

The New Global Politics of Science examines how science and innovation have become truly global, and the consequences of this for scientists, policymakers and citizens. This book provides an overview of how research policies have evolved in different countries and contexts. It also examines how science research has been aligned with nation-building and state-formation, enmeshed in meta-governance, and how this relates to economic growth.

Analysing how knowledge policies have been forged in their specific historical and geographical settings, this book will be an invaluable tool for scholars and policymakers in the fields of science, innovation and public policy.

This timely book expertly examines ongoing pressing issues in the modern world namely, an unstable economic climate, political turmoil and the environmental crisis. It takes a unique look at how science, technology and innovation could contribute towards the creation of a smarter and more resilient society by allowing more inclusive approaches into how science is integrated.

With an insightful global interdisciplinary approach, Smart Policies for Societies in Transition combines in-depth theoretical analysis whilst also providing a reflective look at broadening the scope of science and innovation policy in order to understand the critical issues and challenges. Chapters illustrate historical practices and events, and discuss how the move to smart politics and the linking of boundaries from a social, ecological and global viewpoint leads to fewer but more creative policies.

With its retrospective and forward-thinking perspectives, this book will be an excellent resource for academics wanting to rethink their approach to science and innovation governance, whilst scholars will find the collaborative method for combining policy analysis with theory of policymaking and governance informative and illuminating.

Broad and comprehensive, chapters analyse the research and education systems of China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, considering how their universities operate, their models and policy priorities. Benner studies the historical, social and political causes behind the variations between these countries, before highlighting the effects of globalization on education, research and innovation. Assessing whether we are witnessing a tectonic shift in how and where education and research are carried out, the book ultimately concludes that regional disparities will remain, but that practices and priorities are becoming increasingly similar in the process of globalization.

With Asia showing an increasingly marked presence in research and in scientific and technological capability, this timely book will be invaluable to university policy makers looking to innovate their education and research models, alongside students and scholars interested in Asian development, innovation and technology.

Denna essäsamling syftar till att belysa och diskutera hur kunskap förstås och genereras i gränslandet mellan akademi och praktik. I detta gränsland utspelar sig en kamp om kunskap en kamp som ofta färgas av förenklade, extrema bilder av forskaren som antingen isolerad i ett elfenbenstorn eller frivolt minglande på marknadstorget. Det är en kamp som väcker frågor om forskarens roll, och synen på kunskap, i samhället. Författarna till bokens tretton essäer kommer från en bredd av discipliner inom humaniora och samhällsvetenskap. Genom att låta varje essä speglas i en seriebild vill vi bidra till ytterligare tanke och reflektion kring vad kampen om kunskap handlar om. Vår ambition och förhoppning är att ge bränsle till en diskussion bortom tornet och torget om möjligheter och utmaningar med dagens syn på kunskapsproduktion och vilken roll samverkan kan, eller bör, spela.

Boken är rikt illustrerad i färg.