Unveiling the internal intricacies of student governments in authoritarian contexts
PhD Fellow Andrea Kronstad Felde published her article on institutional work and intra-organisational conflicts in student governments in authoritarian contexts in the prestigious journal Higher Education.
Hovedinnhold
Student governments play pivotal roles in higher education governance, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior studies of student politics in Sub-Saharan Africa predominantly focus on external relations, and often neglect their internal dynamics, which potentially oversimplify their complexities. This article illuminates the often-overlooked internal dynamics of student governments by analysing the internal conflicts of the Students’ Guild at Makerere University, shedding light on previously unexplored empirical and theoretical insights.
By employing the institutional work perspective and conducting extensive fieldwork, the study reveals the heterogeneous nature of student governments, characterized by intra-organisational conflicts arising from competing institutional work. The study finds that student governments are heterogeneous entities with diverse interests and institutional goals. Internal conflicts arise from competing institutional work, where representatives navigate between maintaining and disrupting established institutionalised practices, norms and values. The findings suggest that student governments are internally complex and characterized by conflict, ambiguity, and social maneuvering. This dynamic interplay reflects the inherent ambiguity and uncertainty within authoritarian settings, shaping the organizational and institutional landscape of student governments.
This study contributes to understanding the role of student governments in higher education and their interactions with broader political landscapes, particularly in authoritarian settings. It also provides theoretical insights into the agency of student representatives and the dynamics of institutional work within student governments. Recognizing the complexity of these dynamics enhances our comprehension of higher education institutions in heterogeneous socio-political contexts.
