The Contentious Politics of Higher Education ― Struggles and Power Relations Within the English and Italian Universities

Drawing on neo-institutionalist and social movement approaches, this book analyses the impact that recent student mobilizations have brought about within Italian and English universities in terms of student services, curriculum organization and governance structures. Arguing that the university context is central to explaining the variety and diversity of this impact, the author examines the effects of the type of governance on the strategies and tactics of the students and the responses of the challenged, considering the differences that exist between Italy, where universities are largely run by academics, and England, where universities tend to be governed by academic managers.

Lorenzo Cini is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Humanities and Social Sciences Institute of the Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS) of Pisa, Italy. His main research interest is student mobilizations in neoliberal university. On this topic, Cini has published several articles and chapters in edited volumes (for Brill and Routledge) and journals (Social Movement Studies, Italian Review of Political Science, Anthropological Theory, and PACO).