Power, Neoliberalism and Blame Avoidance: Why University Officials Resist Divestment

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dc.contributor.authorJorgenson, Ida
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-27T16:31:28Z
dc.date.available2016-04-27T16:31:28Z
dc.date.copyright2016en_US
dc.date.issued2016-04-27
dc.description.abstractThe Fossil Fuel Divestment movement has experienced rapid growth in recent years, primarily based on the argument that ‘if it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage’, but Canadian universities are still resisting calls to divest their endowments. This research is an attempt to understand why university leaders continue to refuse divestment, by considering the underlying socioeconomic norms and behaviours which prohibit this action. I suggest that in most situations it is a subtle form of power that is inhibiting university officials from divesting, which operates through social relations and norms to shape actor’s ideas about how the world does and should work. The rise of neoliberalism has shifted universities to a corporate style of management, caused closer ties to industry and influenced the type of people who reach positions of power within universities, issues which are compounded by blame avoidance strategies. We have created a system where actions like divestment appear unacceptable because divestment rejects the profit first mentality of neoliberalism, challenges social connections of university leaders, creates tension for universities’ industry connections and requires leaders to reject blame avoidance.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusUnrevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelUndergraduateen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipJamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awarden_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/7207
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectfossil fuel divestmenten_US
dc.subjectCanadian universitiesen_US
dc.subjectdivest endowmentsen_US
dc.subjectuniversity leadersen_US
dc.subjectneoliberalismen_US
dc.subjectcorporate management of universitiesen_US
dc.titlePower, Neoliberalism and Blame Avoidance: Why University Officials Resist Divestmenten_US
dc.typePosteren_US

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