Mitigating Authoritarian Leadership in University Governance: Toward Ethical and Inclusive Practices in the Global South through a Foucauldian Lens

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to interrogate how authoritarian leadership within university governance structures in the Global South undermines inclusive, ethical, and democratic academic cultures. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s theory of power, the study delves into how toxic leadership practices function as technologies of control manifesting through surveillance, hierarchical domination, and disciplinary norms that marginalize dissent and reproduce systemic inequalities.