I’ve had some recent contact with university level politics. It is hard to remember that the politics in the academic world is more unpleasant, vindictive and mean spirited than anywhere in the corporate world or in a real legislative body.
I think there are two reasons academic politics is so vicious. One is social sorting the other is tenure.
Social sorting is the way all institutions are created. They attract a particular group of people, they then screen the sub-population that can enter the institution and finally the ones who don’t feel comfortable leave. The remainder have a few core characteristics in common.
The people who end up in the academic world are the ones who seek security and have traded security for the need to develop political skills for use in a more adventuresome life.
Add to this academic lack of political skills, tenure. Tenure makes things even worse because it means you won’t be fired for bad, evil, mean or any other form of satanic behavior. Tenure makes academic institutions even more politically demonic.