Il Potere Come Relazione Sociale: il Caso dell'Università Baronale Italiana

This paper is about the role of power relations in the Italian university system. First I describe the mechanisms of recruitment and career in the Italian academia. Then I review the debate on power within social sciences, by distinguishing two conceptions of power, one as a purely interpersonal relationship, the other as a social relationship. Finally, I apply these conceptions to the Italian university system. My thesis is that university power relations are not confined to interpersonal relationships between subjects of different hierarchical levels but that, on the contrary, the Italian university system altogether is a “system of power.”