Abstract
This chapter analyses the preconditions and forms of consolidation in the Swedish higher education system over the last decade. After a rapid development and expansion of the system between 1994 and 2004, there have been several initiatives to consolidate and streamline the sector. There have been few direct interventions intended to trigger reorganisations, mergers and acquisitions; instead, the political system has primarily incentivised universities to seek new organisational models and arrangements. This means that the reorganisation of the higher education system has been marked by experimentation with several different models and initiatives, to determine which models have the best fit with the parties involved. With the advent of a new government in 2014, the issue of mergers has been discarded and universities are again primarily seeking to restore and ascertain their independence. Hence, we analyse mergers in Swedish higher education as a game between rational actors aiming to clarify the gains and potential losses of mergers – rather than a top-down process of forced reorganisations as in many other countries.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Benner, M. (2001). Kontrovers och konsensus. Nora: Nya Doxa.
Benner, M. (2008). Kunskapsnation i kris? Nora: Nya Doxa.
Bienenstock, A., Schwaag Serger, S., Benner, M., & Lidgard, A. (2014). Combining excellence in education, research and impact. Stockholm: SNS.
Broström, A., Deiaco, E., & Melin, G. (2005). Vägval för Örebro universitet och Mälardalens högskola. Utredning av förutsättningar för fusion, allians eller annan samverkan (SISTER report 2005:38). Stockholm: SISTER.
Deiaco, E., Broström, A., & Geschwind, L. (2007). Högskola och region – ett trevande förhållande. Reflektioner over exemplet Västra Götalandsregionen (SISTER Working Paper 2007:61).
Ekberg, T. (2011). SU+KI+KTH =?. En studie om förutsättningar för ett mer systematiserat samarbete mellan universiteten i Stockholm.
Ekholm, L. (2008). Ett stycke svensk utbildningshistoria? Utvärdering av samgåendet mellan Lärarhögskolan i Stockholm och Stockholms universitet.
Geschwind, L., & Melin, G. (2011). Linnéuniversitetets tillkomst. En studie av fusionsprocessen. Stockholm: Technopolis.
Geschwind, L., & Pinheiro, R. (2014, September 3–6). Raising the summit or flattening the agora? The Elitist Turn in Science Policy in Northern Europe. Paper presented at ECPR General Conference University of Glasgow.
Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowotny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P., & Trow, M. (1994). The new production of knowledge: The dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Mann, M. (1994). In praise of macro-sociology. British Journal of Sociology, 45(1), 37–54.
Mayntz, R. (1983). The conditions of effective public policy. Policy and Politics, 2(11), 123–143.
Melin, G. (2013). Ett nytt universitet – Linnéuniversitetets tre första år (A new university – Linnaeus University’s first three years). Stockholm: Technopolis.
Melin, G., Fridholm, T., & Ärenman, E. (2013). Erfarenheter av lärosätesfusioner i Sverige och Danmark (Experiences of university mergers in Sweden and Denmark). Stockholm: Technopolis.
Mouzelis, N. (1995). Sociological theory. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Røvik, K. A. (2000). Moderna organisationer. Stockholm: Liber.
Scharpf, F. W. (1997). Games real actors play. Boulder: Westview.
SOU. (1989:27). (Swedish Government Commission Report 1989:27). Forskning vid de mindre och medelstora högskolorna.
SRC (Swedish Research Council). (2012). The Swedish production of highly cited papers. Stockholm: SRC.
Stockholm: Universitetshuvudstaden. (2010). Stockholm: Universitetshuvudstaden. Utbildning, forskning och utveckling med Karolinska Institutet, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan och Stockholms universitet i samverkan. Available at: http://www.su.se/polopoly_fs/1.10728.1294219924!/menu/standard/file/KI%2BKTH%2BSU_slutgiltig.pdf
Sundqvist, B. (2010). Svenska universitet – elfenbenstorn eller politiska instrument? Hedemora: Gidlunds.
Sydsvenska Dagbladet, 2012-12-03. “Lunds universitet vill tala om samgåenden”.
Universitetsläraren, 20-2008.“Kan bli stora konsekvenser för anställda vid utbildningarna, sager utredaren Sigbrit Franke”.
van Vught, F. A. (Ed.). (1989). Governmental strategies and innovation in higher education. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Wittrock, B. (1993). The modern university: The three transformations. In S. Rothblatt & B. Wittrock (Eds.), The European and American university since 1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Benner, M., Geschwind, L. (2016). Conflicting Rationalities: Mergers and Consolidations in Swedish Higher Education Policy. In: Pinheiro, R., Geschwind, L., Aarrevaara, T. (eds) Mergers in Higher Education. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 46. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21918-9_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21918-9_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-21917-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-21918-9
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)