Abstract

In the field of higher education research an ideational turn can be observed that underlines the importance of ideas in all dimensions of academic organization. This article seeks to present an analytical framework for describing and understanding the role of ideas in the governance of higher education. To this end, it explores how ideational power-power exercised through, over and in ideas-manifests itself in relation to the main dimensions of governance (state regulations, stakeholder framing, academic and managerial self-governance, competition and funding). This framework is then used to provide an overview of the trends in the governance of higher education. Our article concludes with a summary and a reflection, based on the analysis, on the role of ideas in governance.