Ouns Mornagui

In light of some contemporary studies on meritocracy (S. Cingari 2020; M.J. Sandel 2020; D. Markovits 2019), the research project aims to see how the paradigm of care can serve as a model from which to critically examine the meritocratic one. The analysis will focus on how the “care” framework can be considered in the processes of reconceptualizing and redefining university systems, pointing towards a systemic alternative. Following this analytical examination and historical reconstruction of thought, the project will address the issue of how meritocracy and competition have become embedded in the processes of the corporatization of the University in the context of the European Union and in other countries such as the United States, South Korea, and Brazil. The subject of comparison will be the university systems of Europe, the United States, South Korea, and Brazil, specifically regarding how governance systems change (particularly the active or more hidden role of multiple actors or centralized agencies) and their legitimizing discourses. Special attention will be given to European Union policies, and some recent regulations that have received little attention in the literature will be examined, such as the European Commission’s Scoping Report Towards a Reform of the Research Assessment System and the subsequent Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment signed by universities, research centers, European agencies, and assessment bodies such as ANVUR.