Navigating the intersection of international politics and international education
A historical and contemporary analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/4vqsg045Keywords:
international politics, public diplomacy, international relations theories, international education, internationalization, higher education studiesAbstract
International education and the process of internationalization have evolved through distinct historical phases, each characterized by shifting global political outlooks and increasing complexity. International politics and the global power hierarchy have always played a significant role in shaping the development of international education and directions of academic mobility. Since the era of ancient Greece, various periods have witnessed diverse patterns of student mobility concentrated in specific geographic regions, paralleling prevailing power structures. Currently, international education is undergoing a distinct phase in which its significance in public diplomacy and foreign policy is widely recognized. However, its use for further national interests has also been criticized for potential manipulation. This article provides a historical background and conceptual framework for understanding the intersection of international politics and international education.
References
Altbach, P. G. (2014). The complexity of higher education: a career in academics and activism. In Maldonado, M. A. & Bassett, R. M. (Eds.), The forefront of international higher education (pp. 1-31). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7085-0_1
Altbach, P. G., & Teichler, U. (2001). Internationalization and exchanges in a globalized university. Journal of Studies in International Education, 5 (1), pp. 5-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/102831530151002
Altbach, P. G., & Knight, J. (2007). The internationalization of higher education: motivations and realities. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11 (3-4), pp. 290-305. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303542
Asteris, M. (2006). British universities: The “coal exporters” of the 21st century, Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 224-240 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306289785
Bhandari, R., & Blumenthal, P. (2011). International students and global mobility in higher education: National trends and new directions. Palgrave Macmillan DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230117143
British Council (2016). The shape of global higher education: National policies framework for international engagement: Emerging themes. Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil.org/
Chan, W. W., & Dimmock, C. (2008). The internationalization of universities: globalist, internationalist and translocalist models. Journal of Research in International Education, 7 (2), pp. 184-204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240908091304
Cull, N. (2009). Public diplomacy: Taxonomies and histories. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616, 31-54 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716207311952
de Wit, H. (2012). Student mobility between Europe and the rest of the world: trends, issues and challenges. In Curaj, A., Scott, P., Vlasceanu, L., & Wilson, L. (Eds.). (2012). European higher education at the crossroads: between the Bologna process and national reforms, (pp. 431-439). Springer Science & Business Media. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3937-6_24
Francois E.J., Avoseh M.B.M., Griswold W. (eds) (2016), Perspectives in transnational higher education. Sense Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-420-6
François, E. J. (2016). What is transnational education? In François, E. J., Avoseh, M. B. M. & Grisworld, W. (Eds.), Perspectives in transnational higher education (pp. 1-22). Sense Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-420-6_1
Froumin I. & Lisyutkin M. (2015) Excellence-driven policies and initiatives in the context of Bologna process: Rationale, design, implementation and outcomes. In: Curaj A., Matei L., Pricopie R., Salmi J., Scott P. (eds) The European higher education Area, Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20877-0_17
Gultekin, O. (2020). Inquiry on the role of international education in future diplomacy after the Covid-19 pandemic. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education, 5(2), 146–154. Retrieved from https://www.ojed.org/index.php/jimphe/article/view/2636
Gürüz, K. (2011). Higher education and international student mobility in the global knowledge economy. State University of New York Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.18254638
Hayden, C. (2012). The rhetoric of soft power: Public diplomacy in global contexts. Lexington Books.
IIE. (2024). Open Doors: fast facts. https://www.iie.org/research-initiatives/open-doors/.
Jules, T.D. (2016). ‘Gated globalization’, regionalism and regional trading agreements. In: Francois E.J., Avoseh M.B.M., Griswold W. (eds) Perspectives in transnational higher education. Sense Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-420-6_2
Kawamura H. (2016) International education as intercultural communication. In: Mock J., Kawamura H., Naganuma N. (eds) The impact of internationalization on Japanese higher Education. Global perspectives on higher education, Sense Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-169-4_1
Kireçci, M. A., Bacanlı, H., Erişen, Y., Karadağ, E., Çeliköz, N., Dombaycı, M., Toprak, M. & Şahin, M. (2016). The internationalization of higher education in Turkey: creating an index. Education and Science, 41 (187), pp. 1-28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15390/EB.2016.6223
Knight, J. (1999). A time of turbulence and transformation for internationalization. Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).
Knight, J. (2006). Crossborder education: an analytical framework for program and provider mobility. In Smart J. C. (Eds.), Higher education: handbook of theory and research, (pp. 345-395). Dordrecht: Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4512-3_7
Knight, J. (2014). Is internationalization of higher education having an identity crisis? In Maldonado, A. M. & Bassett, R.M. (Eds.), The forefront of international higher education (pp. 75-87). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7085-0_5
Knight, J. (2015). Internationalization: Unintended Consequences? International Higher Education, (54) DOI: https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2009.54.8412
Knight, J. (2017). Global: Moving From Soft Power to Knowledge Diplomacy. Understanding Higher Education Internationalization, 381-382. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6351-161-2_82
Knight, J. (2019). Knowledge Diplomacy in Action (Rep.). British Council.
Knight, J., & Wit, H. D. (2018). Internationalization of Higher Education: Past and Future. International Higher Education, (95), 2-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.6017/ihe.2018.95.10715
Kondakci, Y. (2011). Student Mobility Reviewed: Attraction and Satisfaction of International Students in Turkey. Higher Education, 62(5), 573-592. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-011-9406-2
Kondakci, Y., Bedenlier, S., & Zawacki-Richter, O. (2017). Social Network Analysis of International Student Mobility: Uncovering the Rise of Regional Hubs. Higher Education, 75(3), 517-535. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0154-9
Lee, J. J., Maldonado-Maldonado, A., & Rhoades, G. (2006). The political economy of international student flows: patterns, ideas, and propositions. In Smart, J. C. (Eds.) Higher education: handbook of theory and research (pp. 545-590). Dordrecht: Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4512-3_11
Marginson, S. (2006), Dynamics of national and global competition in higher education, Higher Education, 52(1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-7649-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-7649-x
Mok, K. H. (2007). Questing for internationalization of universities in Asia: critical reflections. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11 (3-4), pp. 433-454. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315306291945
Monaghan, C. (2015), Changing the prism: New theoretical approaches for education in emergencies. In: Gross, Z. & Davies, L. (Eds.), The contested role of education in conflict and fragility, Sense Publishers. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-010-9_5
Nye, J. S. (2004), Soft power: The means to success in world politics, PublicAffairs.
Nye, J. S. (2018), How sharp power threatens soft power | Foreign Affairs. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2018-01-24/how-sharp-power-threatens-soft-power
OECD. (2001). The well-being of nations: The role of human and social capital. OECD Publications Centre.
OECD (2018). Education at a glance 2018: OECD indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing.
OECD & UNESCO (2005), Guidelines for quality provision in cross-border higher education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000143349 [accessed 20 October 2024]
Portnoi, L. M. (2016), Policy borrowing and reform in education: Globalized processes and local contexts, Palgrave MacMillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53024-0
Rothschild, E. (2011), The inner life of empires: An eighteenth-century history, Princeton University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400838165
Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Pantheon Books.
Soria, K. M., & Troisi, J. (2013). internationalization at home alternatives to study abroad. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18(3), 261-280. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315313496572
Stetar J., Coppla C., Guo L., Nabiyeva N., Ismailov B. (2010). Soft power strategies: Competition and cooperation in a globalized system of higher education. In: Portnoi L.M., Rust V.D., Bagley S.S. (eds) Higher education, policy, and the global competition phenomenon. international and development education. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230106130_14
Teichler, U. (2004). The changing debate on internationalization of higher education. Higher Education, 48 (1), pp. 5-26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HIGH.0000033771.69078.41
Trilokekar, R. D. (2009). International education as soft power? the contributions and challenges of Canadian foreign policy to the internationalization of higher education. Higher Education, 59(2), 131-147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-009-9240-y
UNESCO, Global flow of tertiary-level students. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow, http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow
UNESCO. (1974). Education for international understanding, Co-operation and peace and education relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms. https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/recommendation-concerning-education-international-understanding-co-operation-and-peace-and-education.
UNICEF (2011). The role of education in peacebuilding: Literature review. United Nations Children’s Fund
van der Wende, M. (2007). Internationalization of higher education in the OECD countries: challenges and opportunities for the coming decade. Journal of Studies in International Education, 11 (3-4), pp. 274-289. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315307303543
Vestal, T. M., & Leestma, R. (1994). International education: its history and promise for today. ABC-CLIO. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9798400671203
Walker, C. (2016). The Hijacking of “Soft Power”. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 49-63 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2016.0007
Walker, C. (2018). What Is "Sharp Power"? Journal of Democracy, 29(3), 9-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2018.0041
Walker, C. & Ludwig J. (2017). Introduction: From Soft Power to Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence in the Democratic World, National Endowment for Democracy
Walker, P. (2013). international student policies in UK higher education from colonialism to the coalition. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18(4), 325-344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315312467355
World Bank (2005). Reshaping the Future: Education and Post-Conflict Reconstruction. World Bank.
Zajda J. et al. (eds) (2005). international handbook on globalization, education and policy research. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2960-8
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of International Students
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All published articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Unported License.
