Towards a democratic governance regime in public universities

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyze and reflect on democratic governance in public universities. As a starting point, the parameters and variables of the concept of democratic governance are established, whose features are based on the participation of society in decision-making with a view to the decentralization of power and which is based on the right to information, transparency and accountability. Subsequently, two important visions of public universities are addressed in two subsequent sections: one external and the other internal. From the external point of view, the relations and tensions of public universities with public power and other real factors of power are addressed, in scenarios of risk for autonomy. From there, we analyze and characterize the nature of university autonomy. On the other hand, the internal vision, where university governance institutions must be crystallized in the administration and in the university legal order.