Structural reforms and business ethos in universities under Estonia’s post-2008 austerity regime

Abstract

The year 2018 marked the 10th anniversary of the global economic crisis of 2008. In Europe, austerity has been a constant ever since the crisis. This article critically engages with recent institutional and ideological developments in the small Baltic state of Estonia. The article investigates the structural reforms and prevailing ideology in Estonian universities under conditions of the post-2008 economic crisis austerity regime. How has austerity impacted academia and what have been the responses to it? How has the university been approached in the context of post-crisis socio-economic challenges? Structural reforms and business ethos coupled with decreased public funding have been part and parcel of the European higher education landscape, from Greece to the British Isles. Expanding the research done on this subject, I explore these issues in the Estonian context with a particular focus on the political economy and institutional governance. I seek to show how Estonia’s consolidation politics in the field of higher education governance has led to a decline of the university as a public (sector) institution and limited the opportunities to undertake independent, critical research. I conclude with recent attempts to contest austerity in universities at a time of a conservative turn in Estonian politics.