Coping with the flow–state mediation in European higher education

Abstract

This paper explores how global and transnational trends manifest in the governance reforms in European higher education. It brings together Finland, France, Poland, Portugal, and the Netherlands to analyse how the states mediate transnational trends and national policy priorities. While lacking official decision-making authority in higher education policy, transnational organisations have significantly influenced policy and practice changes due to the perceived importance of higher education for economic and social development. Their influence can be described as facilitating policy borrowing and policy lending, articulating the characteristics of the states and the established academic cultures with governance narratives. The study employs a comparative document analysis of national policy contexts across five countries. The analysis brought forward the role of the state in mediating higher education institutional autonomy, opening avenues for further research on the rationales influencing the national interpretation of transnational trends.