The power of the UNiversity Presidents in Argentina's university policies: historical factors and structural determinants

Abstract

The main question of this work revolves around the relevance and specificity of the power of the Rectors (University Presidents) in a country such as Argentina, with a long standing tradition of autonomous and politicized public universities. It adresses the particularity of University politics, discussing with analytical frameworks that believe that the central authority has become increasingly devoid of real influence in university life and organization. In a relational perspective, this paper attempts to deploy a set of historical factors and structural determinants of Argentina's university field which explain how "rectoral power" was built and why Rectors became relevant into creafting public policies for higher education in the last four decades.