In Search of New Identity: Universities in the Era of Political and Economic Hegemony.

With the passage of globalization, modernity and information age, on the one hand, and decline of nation state, death of distance, unbundling of territoriality, demise of the golden age of intellectual freedom and commodification of knowledge, the universities are searching for new identities all over the world. In the era, where geo-economics dominates geo-politics, most of the states are not in a position to protect their economies from disruptive external forces. Rather, they are required to adjust their economies and public policies to external pressures. The issue of identity crisis of modern universities is directly connected with the decline or reformulation of the nation state and the decline or transformation of social, cultural and political project of modernity. With the transformation of power-knowledge equation in the wake of globalization, the role of universities as the generators of knowledge and custodians of socio-cultural traditions, is bound to get transformed too. Universities form the part and parcel of the very process, which manifests itself in the emergence of an industrial economic order and the nation state. With the changes in the economic order and the nation state, the socio-cultural and political role of the universities as an institution is now under grab. Earlier the states created nations of citizens by conscripting, disciplining, monitoring and regulating their activities. Today the states are required to adjust their domestic policies to serve the global economic interests. Though the global transformations in economic and politics are visible, it is very difficult to visualize and conceptualize the changes occurring at the level of power-knowledge to visualize and conceptualize the changes occurring at the level of power-knowledge realm. Power and its character gets changed and, therefore, out of necessity, knowledge and its character also gets changed. My paper seeks to make an indepth study of the relationship between power and knowledge by focussing on some of the questions, such as, what is the role of universities in the era of political and economic hegemony? Are the scholars supposed to reinforce the existing power relationship in the world of international relations, consciously or unconsciously or act as catalytic in encouraging and supporting diversification or reification of neo-realist/neo-liberal and constructivist approaches? What is the professional role and ethical responsibilities of scholars of international relations? With the decline of the nation state in terms of power, will the role of universities also change drastically, universities being the handmade of political power? Will the change be towards reinforcing the political and economic hegemony or against the same, etc? All these questions await honest answers. The methodology adopted is analytical, conceptual and empirical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]