Cultural and Constitutional Embeddedness of University Autonomy in Lithuania

Abstract

Governments around the globe increasingly recognize that “creating successful universities requires a supportive governance structure in which universities or colleges have autonomy to achieve objectives, whether research or teaching, with the appropriate level of accountability” (Raza 2009: 2). Although there is ample evidence of a shifting government-university nexus, it seems too early to conclude that universities in the developed countries have become more autonomous and more accountable. This chapter seeks to explore reasons behind multidirectional changes. It argues that shifting the balance of autonomy and accountability is not entirely a discretional decision of policymakers or of the management of universities. Reforms are constrained by existing institutions that emerged from a unique mix of previous decisions. Hence, similar policy initiatives lead to diverging time- and place-specific outcomes.