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Norwegian academia: From social democratic egalitarianism to competitive elitism?
| The egalitarian Norwegian political culture’s disdain for any elite also applies for the attitude towards the academic elite during the classical social democratic period. The academic elite has, for its part, traditionally advocated a “politics of pure science” antithetical to any kind of market orientation or state intervention. Nevertheless, in the context of the so-called Bologna Process’s reforms, aimed at developing a common European market for both research and higher education, there are strong indications that more explicitly elitist perspectives are gaining new legitimacy among policy makers and academics alike. This seemingly paradox is illuminated by the fact that an orientation towards a competitive European research market could cater to the interest of the academic elite, as it might facilitate a greater degree of differentiation and hierarchy in the Norwegian research system. Such a trajectory could also prove to be highly compatible with fundamental national policy concerns in the emerging “Europe of knowledge” and as a politically marketable expression of the neo-liberal knowledge society's meritocratic elitism.
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