Is State Control in Higher Education Governance Always Bad?: New Public Management and the History of Indonesian Higher Education Reform Policy

Abstract

This article examines the oxymoronic issues regarding the role of the state in higher education under the implementation of New Public Management (NPM) advocated by neoliberal ideology. According to its proponents, NPM can increase success and productivity and, thus, foster more democratic governance. In this NPM‐driven web of relationships, the central issue always lies in whether the state should play minimal or maximal roles via a set of performative measurements. This article analyzes this interaction and relationship between the state and higher education, taking Indonesia as an object of analysis. It seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the theory and practice of public administration and public policy on education, particularly regarding the role of state in a particular context, like that of Indonesia, in which NPM and the neoliberal agenda are taking root.