No abstract

The historical, cultural, political, and economic contexts of academic activism have been marked by the structural crises of capitalism, which, along with the emergence of neoliberalism, have sought to change the Academy and disciplines. The disciplinary impacts of neoliberal policies outside and within the academy have all influenced students, academics, and management in differing ways. Furthermore, academic activism in higher education requires a debate on the function of education, the role of the university along with disciplines, and exploration of the importance of ideology in relation to human emancipation or alienation. So too this debate should consider whether academia and activism occupy separate worlds in a discursive strategy to disqualify the legitimacy, cogency, or efficacy of academic activism. The economic and managerial consolidation of the neoliberal university has intensified the challenges of activism and resistance within academic disciplines as well as for individuals. This paper aims to explore the legacy of neoliberal change within academia, identifying the opportunities and need for activism within the Academy. Using an argumentative literature review supported by the critical reflection of the authors’ experiences within the academy in Brazil and the UK, we explore the contemporary challenge and the need to utilise the contradictions of the current system to work collaboratively and to be engaged as public intellectuals.

Cuba has long‐standing development partnerships with many African countries. In Nigeria, this includes medical staff training, interventions in malaria disease and death. Using a two‐tiered analytical framework and elite interviews, we problematise ideological conceptualisation of development and its praxis, particularly capability and willingness to explore alternative approaches or partnerships for development. We argue that what occurs between rhetoric and reality of this case is characteristic of entrenched structural and operational dynamics to layers of institutionalised development agenda‐setting sustained by international development policy regimes. This research highlights the need to explore alternative development approaches that engender mutually beneficial and equal partnerships.

No abstract