Power, Neoliberalism and Higher Education Administration*

It is essential to address power relations on the grounds of power and to discuss how power penetrates institutions, especially human life, in the context of neoliberalism to analyze higher education administration in the twenty-first century. In the current society, where various aspects are emphasized with descriptions such as information society, post-modernist, or neoliberal, practices in universities are also affected by social dynamics and how power operates. Therefore, examining changing forms of social and power relations is critically important to analyze administrative practices in higher education institutions. Based on this, this study aims to examine the concepts of biopolitical power and neoliberal governmentality in particular to explore how power operates in higher education institutions and how individuals and societies are organized and governed concerning economic policies and life policies, and to provide a fundamental perspective for studies conducted in higher education on this subject. This research attempted to present a comprehensive analysis of the literature by giving the theoretical foundations of the subject. In this context, the policy changes that took place and the reflections of neoliberalism on academic identity were also mentioned. This study aimed to thoroughly examine the literature by providing the theoretical underpinnings of the topic.