A totem pole? The multi-level nature of unauthorised hierarchies within academia and its impact on interdisciplinary research
(2026) Nature — Vol. “Interdisciplinarity in Theory and Practice” Call (Nature Portfolio) (2026)
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- Background: This article provides an account of how hierarchies function as barriers to interdisciplinarity in research. Hierarchies are ubiquitous in academic life as doing interdisciplinarity research comes with equal consideration and a recognition of the importance of all disciplines and methods at stake, in view of democratisation of science and academic freedom. Yet hierarchies are still active, either as authorised or unauthorised. Approach: This article provides real-life experiences of interdisciplinary research. It analyses data from a qualitative survey with 51 scholars involved in interdisciplinary work, reflecting on hierarchies in academia and how they can represent obstacles to fostering collaboration among people with different disciplinary backgrounds. Knowledge gap: Cognitive and institutional barriers are well known difficulties to interdisciplinary work. Yet the specific nature and interrelated dimensions of hierarchies as well as how they can act as barriers to interdisciplinarity is still underexplored. Key findings: The study makes two contributions: first it provides an account of hierarchies at stake as perceived by interdisciplinary researchers, with an overview of their multi-level nature and how they operate, i.e. as a totem pole. Second, as we shed light on bottlenecks, gatekeepers or self protective behaviours, the study shows how hierarchies affect collaborations on the level of individual and collective abilities. Generally, addressing hierarchies contributes to broader discussions about equity and fairness in academic settings. Conclusions: The article provides knowledge to comprehensively understand the multi-level nature of hierarchies and whether interdisciplinarity is under more pressure than traditional disciplinary approaches through analysing the features and origins of hierarchy. Eventually, some policy advice to promote interdisciplinarity are provided in the conclusion. Implications: The study opens a space for further discussion and analysis on multi-level aspects of hierarchies and their workings in academia and interdisciplinary research which are beyond the scope of this research article. The importance of interpersonal dynamics and how they influence professional growth is critical to our understanding and evaluation of hierarchies in academia and their inevitable effect on the conduct of interdisciplinary research. This can help understand why and how people undertake interdisciplinary research and why, in certain circumstances, interdisciplinarity is associated with resistance and seeking of more academic freedom.
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Abassi Zahra, Ingrid Aguiar Schlindwein, Degavre, F., Edwards Maisa, Peeters, A., Tateo Luca, & et al. (2026). A totem pole? The multi-level nature of unauthorised hierarchies within academia and its impact on interdisciplinary research. Nature, “Interdisciplinarity in Theory and Practice” Call (Nature Portfolio). https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/270078 (Original work published 2026)