Closing a Governance Blind Spot: Function creep, power asymmetry, and the limits of robustness debates on rankings

Debates on university rankings often focus on their methodologies, while neglecting the more systemic and structural effects they have on research evaluation and science policy. In this text, I argue that this neglect has come to produce a governance blind spot, which methodological refinements cannot resolve. The text concludes by outlining how greater transparency of data infrastructure, collective action, and government support for public and cooperative alternatives could help rebalance the governance of science and higher education.