The aim of this paper is to understand the complex relationship of public policy for higher education, through the historical aspect of the neo institutionalism. Institutions are central to the study of politics, not only because of the importance of the state as an actor and author of specific actions, but by their ability to interfere in the political culture, the actors’ strategy and on the research agenda of historical neo institutionalism. Through dimensional analysis of the policy (polity, politics and policy), the research seeks to analyze in a comparative way the constitution of the public agenda, the formulation and implementation of educational policy in the governments of Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The common thread is the dynamic of Arena Decision of Higher Education, in which public policy fomented by the Ministry of Education (MEC) has influenced and been influenced by all the governmental and social actors.
higher education; public policy; neo institutionalism history