Power and Geo-Politics in Current Global Higher Education

Jack Lee, University of Glasgow (in-person)

Anatoly Oleksiyenko, Education University of Hong Kong (online)

The current discourse of higher education (HE) is becoming increasingly contested as power and politics acquire new dimensions locally, regionally and globally. Recent developments in international HE exemplify not only soft power as a normative practice that seeks positive outcomes but also the various ways that states and universities leverage power in detrimental ways that attack students, restrict academic freedom and erode institutional autonomy. Power implicates the politics of education, and examining the dilemmas at a macro level requires understanding the politics of international HE at meso- and micro- levels as well. Analysing how different stakeholders in different contexts approach the growing dilemmas across these levels is essential for shaping critical inquiry and more inclusive discourse. This seminar aims to advance knowledge on conceptual contestations and misconceptions of power in international HE as well as reflect on the futures of global HE.

Jack is a Senior Lecturer in Higher Education at the University of Glasgow and program lead for Glasgow's MSc International and Comparative Education. His research focuses on the politics of higher education from a comparative and international perspective with particular attention on the Global South. His previous projects have examined the development of education hubs in Southeast Asia, inbound faculty mobility in Kazakhstan, soft power, China's Belt and Road Initiative, German binational universities and decolonization. Jack is a member of the executive committee of the British Association for International and Comparative Education and the editorial board of Compare. He previously worked at the University of Edinburgh, University of Bath and Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan). He completed his PhD in higher education and comparative & international education at the University of Toronto.

Anatoly Oleksiyenko is Professor of International Higher Education, Acting Head of the Department of Education Policy and Leadership, and Co-Director of the Centre for Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK). His research focuses on agential dilemmas in global higher education, with most impactful publications addressing transformational challenges in post-soviet higher education. His papers received a range of awards from the Comparative and International Education Society in the USA (2016 – best article award from Higher Education SIG; 2019 – best book award from the SIG International Students and Study Abroad; and 2024 – best research paper award from the SIG Europe and Central Asia). Professor Oleksiyenko holds a PhD in Higher Education from OISE-University of Toronto in Canada.