The relevance of aggression and the aggression of relevance

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how language functions to construct relevance at moments of articulation and how language functions as an aggressive marketing practice to promote a self-regulated (production-oriented) system of accreditation.Design methodology approach - Drawing on the political theory of Laclau and Lacanian psychoanalytical theory of desire and aggressivity, a linguistic case study is used to illustrate the construction and promotion of accreditation and relevance.Findings - Aggressive competitive behavior in the area of higher education accreditation sets up inter-institutional antagonisms at the local and global level which may prove socially divisive and restrict the distribution of knowledge for the social good with the possible implication of restricting economic growth for competitively weaker countries.Research limitations implications - The micro analysis of language restricts the size of the data set considered in a single article.Practical implications - Stakeholders of higher education institutions may wish to consider the strategic implications of accreditation beyond inter-institution rivalry.Originality value - Methodologically, this paper provides an innovative application of political, psychoanalytical and linguistic theory. Empirically, the paper provides new insights into the accreditation of higher education.