The precarious academics and the others: successively legitimising an exceptional regime

Abstract

Currently, the higher education and science sector is characterized by a high prevalence of precarious labour contracts. This essay explores how academics in precarious and permanent positions interpret teaching and research activities, as well as the labour conditions under which these activities are developed, to discuss its roots and connections to the consolidation of this sector during the democratic period in Portugal. It reflects on the persisting legitimisation of closure mechanisms to the permanent integration of researchers in academia that results in the normalisation of precarious labour, currently extending to all academic activities. This dual system fosters internal disparities, contributes to the reproduction of power structures and promotes an environment of exacerbated competition that hinders the fulfilment of the missions of higher education and science organizations.