Changing authority relations in puplic science systems and their consequences for the direction and organisation of research

The governance and organisation of scientific research undertaken for publication have altered significantly since the end of the Second World War in many industrialised economies. These changes have had significant effects on authority relations governing research goals, approaches and the evaluation of results. Such shifts in authority have altered the extent and form of intellectual competition, innovation and coordination in the public sciences. However, the nature and consequences of these governance changes have varied considerably between differently organised public science systems. The changing direction and organisation of scientific research in different societies can be analysed by comparing governance changes in six ideal types of public science systems that differ in the relative authority of the state, intellectual elites and employers. Variations in the stratification of higher education systems and public research organisations and in the diversity of funding agencies additionally affect the consequences of governance changes.