The vicious circle of precarity: cognitariats in the era of austerity and authoritarianism

Abstract

Based on ethnographic material produced during the last six years in Greece and Turkey, this paper will discuss the trajectory of three scholars who sought academic refuge in Turkey to escape the precarity that austerity policies created in their own country, Greece. They were forced out of their jobs, and consequently Turkey, when caught in the middle of the Turkish government’s authoritarian outburst following the failed coup attempt of July 2016. Drawing on approaches that construe precarity as a normality in all labour groups, including academics, and the authoritarianism inflicted on academia as an assault on civil liberties by the regime aimed at preventing academics from mounting a serious challenge to the incumbent, I will try to illustrate two things: (a) that for the cognitariat, precarity that results from austerity policies differs little from precarity that results from authoritarian policies and (b) that structural precarity has the tendency to reproduce itself through the disciplining mechanisms of these two types of governmentality.

Experiences of precarious work within higher education institutions: a qualitative evidence synthesis

“…Settling for precarious employment contracts leads to loss of pay and long-term pension insecurity (Ivancheva et al, 2019) Often individuals are left with little choice but to play the game of a system that perpetuates the conditions of precarity (Stoica et al, 2019). Participants speak about "cruel optimism" and being in a "vicious circle" they silently perpetuate because of the externalities of their profession and in a "neoliberal" system (Voulvouli, 2019) Funding instruments and development opportunities are exclusionary to precariously employed individuals and groups…”

“…"At the end of the day, the system is ready to replace you as soon as the contract expires, offering nothing more than 'unemployed excellence"' (Stoica et al, 2019). Participants expressed emotions of continuously having to bounce back and forth between hope and desire for more secure and permanent employment and the fear of never attaining these goals (Voulvouli, 2019). The majority of participants hope to attain a job and economic security (Allmer, 2018) Precarious employment in academia requires confidence in your abilities, resilience and accountability…”

“…Precariously employed academics must be resilient and flexible (various spheres of their lives) and be able to manage diverse types of expected and unexpected situations, continuously adapt to life-altering circumstances and stressful and pressurized work conditions, ravaged by invisibility and alienation, mental health challenges and job insecurity are all prominent aspects of precarity (Stoica et al, 2019). Participants find themselves overwhelmed by having to constantly overcome challenges, endure and cope with setbacks, work pressures, policies and politics that influence their work and working conditions (Voulvouli, 2019) Women experienced marginalization and were side-lined in their academic profession, being treated as "non-citizens" (O'Keefe and Courtois, 2019). Marginalized groups, i.e.…”

“…The lack of continuity and security characteristic of precarious employment further endangers the developing of valuable pedagogical relationships for students and academics (Leathwood and Read, 2020). The need for accountability measures in place for public universities by the government departments on the employment of casualised academic staff emphasizes the need to recruit experienced academic staff in a permanent capacity to promote the development agenda of the tertiary institutions (Adewumi, 2021) of the "neoliberal system" (O'Keefe and Courtois, 2019; Stoica et al, 2019;Voulvouli, 2019;Bone, 2021;McKenzie, 2021a).…”

Exquisite Corpses and backward glances: European social anthropology 2019

“…Particular venom was reserved for such contested curricular elements as gender studies in the state campaigns against these institutions. A totalitarian degree of harshness has characterised recent state campaigns against academic dissidence by the Erdogan regime in Turkey (Biner 2019; Voulvouli 2019), with a ferocious pogrom of academic staff and institutions alleged to be connected with the so‐called Gülenist opposition, accused of being behind a coup attempt in 2016. Greece has perhaps been hardest hit of all European countries by the political and economic vagaries of the ‘neoliberal turn’.…”