Competition within and across universities is so common that it may not seem like a big deal. Professors compete for tenure. Students compete to get into a best universities. And universities compete for rankings.

But where does this competition come from and what effects is it having on higher education systems?

My guest today is Rajani Naidoo, professor in higher education management at the University of Bath. She recently edited a special issue of the British journal of the Sociology of Education looking at what she calls the "competition fetish" in higher education. The special issue, which comes out later this year, brings together articles that show the varieties of competition and the various ways actors channel, reproduce, internalize and secure competition logics. Some of the articles address the consequences of competition.

I spoke with Rajani in mid-March about the special issue.