Conditions Under Which Academic Self-Governance Collapses: A Structural Analysis

This article presents a structural theory of faculty governance decline in contemporary universities. Drawing on historical analysis and a review of comparative literature, the study argues that administrative dominance emerges not as institutional pathology but as rational adaptation to specific convergent conditions. Five structural factors are identified: the collapse of epistemic authority, institutional scale and heterogeneity, an intensified risk environment, the fragmentation of faculty as a collective class, and mission substitution dynamics. When these conditions converge, faculty governance becomes structurally impossible rather than merely politically undermined. The analysis synthesizes findings from recent cross-national studies documenting decollegialization, managerialism, and corporatization trends. The article concludes that reversing administrative expansion requires addressing the structural configuration that makes faculty governance unviable, rather than pursuing reforms within existing frameworks. This reframing carries significant implications for higher education policy and institutional design.