The Crisis of Governance in Colombian Public Universities. Contributions to the Sociology of Power in Universities

One of the great issues in the sociology of higher education is the 'sociology of power' in institutions, a power whose main expression is the institutional government, understood as the set of rules that define and regulate both the decision-making bodies and their hierarchical relation and the participation and representation of diverse groups, states, and sectors of society in said bodies. Given that the main governing body in Colombian public universities is the Higher University Council (CSU, according to its acronym in Spanish), regulated by Law 30 of 1992, the composition of the CSU, the background and allegiances of its members, and the social sectors it represents are an important object of sociological study. This analysis makes it possible to understand the democratic nature of the composition of the CSU, the scope and limitations of the representativeness of its members, and the legitimacy of the decisions made by this high governing body, all of which shapes the possibilities and boundaries of 'university democracy'.