While in Turkey harshest measures can be found against academics and it is a witch-hunt like atmosphere, calls for the Support of Turkish academics being answered with even more severe punishment, while there is the ongoing debate on the problems of socio-economic security for academics, another, more subtle, aspect should not be forgotten, linked to the ranking systems:
Fearing for their budgets, rectors responded with both carrots and sticks. A few weeks before the submission deadline, the CRUI announced a “university spring day”, on which every campus would hold a debate about the problems facing Italian universities. Meanwhile, Pisa suspended all planned appointments, promotions and payment of research expenses until the effect of the boycott on its budget is ascertained. And the University of Pavia announced that future resources would be distributed to departments on the basis of their VQR results: hence, fewer protesters means more resources.
An interesting way of strangulating democracy is shown where
Academics in Italy have boycotted assessment
and the questions is
COMMEDIA DELLA VITA OR PÁNTA RÊI'S FIRM GROUND 