Theme 4: Universities, freedoms and geopolitics

Thursday 23 April, 11.45am – 1.15pm

Internationalisation of higher education beyond the western horizon: Critical perspectives

Panellists:

• Benjamin Mulvey, University of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
• Fei Yan, Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
• Annette Bamberger, Bar Ilan University, Israel
• Yasmin Ortiga, Singapore Management University, Singapore
• Omer Caliskan, University of Kassel, Germany
• Hilal Buyukgoze, Bartin University, Türkiye
• Maria Yudkevich, University of Haifa, Israel
• Akiysohi Yonezawa, Tohoku University, Japan
• Latika Gupta, Central Institute of Education, University of Delhi, New Delhi
• Edward Vickers, Kyushu University, Japan

This panel brings together several contributors from our forthcoming Comparative Education special issue, Internationalisation in Higher Education beyond the Western Horizon: Critical Perspectives. The special issue responds to dominant framings of internationalisation in higher education, which too often reproduce a reductive binary between an essentialised and monolithic ‘West’ and a homogenised, victimised ‘non-West.’ A central premise of the special issue is that such perspectives often undermine the pursuit of social justice, as they risk essentialising non-Western contexts and inadvertently giving authoritarian states a ‘pass’ for their own (neo)colonial projects and ambitions. By drawing attention to these silences and distortions, the panel advances a more politically nuanced and critical understanding of internationalisation beyond the Western horizon.

Each of the contributors problematise dominant framings of internationalisation in the Global South in some way. Bamberger offers an analysis of a corpus of articles representative of the ‘internationalisation otherwise’ literature, arguing that they often reproduce the essentialist, binary perspectives noted above. Mulvey offers a critique of the China-focused ‘critical internationalisation studies’ literature, arguing that much of it seeks to ‘de-centre’ the West, but inadvertently reproduces orientalist discourses and overlooks epistemic illiberalism and the PRC’s own colonial practices. Relatedly, Yan critiques the growing promotion of the concept of tianxia as a framework for global higher education, arguing that its contemporary framing as ‘harmonious cosmopolitanism’ neglects its imperialist roots and risks legitimising authoritarian politics. Ortiga focuses on the tensions around international student recruitment in the Philippines, calling for greater recognition of how actors and institutions within the Global South can have their own agency in shaping international education. Caliskan and Buyukgoze examine Turkey’s internationalisation policies, interpreting them as an instruments of neo-Ottomanism, econo-Islamism, and pan-Turkism, strategically deployed for regional influence. Finally, Yudkevich traces international student recruitment in Russia from the 1950s to the present, showing how shifting balances of political, administrative and market logics have constrained university agency. Taken together, these contributions go some way to addressing or challenging the essentialisation of non-Western contexts in the field of international and comparative education.

Thursday 23 April, 2.15pm – 3.45pm

Whose academic freedom? Threats in different contexts and against different stakeholders

Panellists:

• Daniela Craciun, University of Twente: What’s the news on academic freedom? Automated text analysis of University World News
• Marcelo Marques, University of Luxembourg: Understanding Academic Freedom: A Bibliometric Analysis of Cross-Disciplinary, Cross-Regional, and Cross-National Perspectives
• Gergely Kováts, Corvinus University Budapest: Political context to academic freedom
• Rita Hordósy, University of Nottingham: Academic freedom in disciplinary contexts: the case of Hungarian sociology
• Brendan Cantwell, Michigan State University: Postliberal university governance – USA context

Academic freedom makes it possible to question social and scientific truths that are taken for granted, while respecting the standards recognised by the scientific community (MCO 2020, UNESCO 1997). Over the last decade, concern about the erosion of academic freedom has become increasingly pronounced (e.g. Maasen et al. 2023, Lyer et al. 2023, EP 2024, Hao 2020). This trend is not only visible in dictatorships and autocracies, but increasingly in democracies as well (Craciun & Mihut 2017, Kinzelbach et al. 2025).

However, the types of academic freedom issues depend across political systems, regions and disciplines. This panel will explore the diverse impact of academic freedom infringements on those working in universities and research organisations regarding both the core elements of academic freedom (learning, teaching, research, and dissemination) and its supporting conditions (self-governance, institutional autonomy, employment and financial security) (Kováts & Rónay 2023). Restrictions on academic freedom affect social sciences and humanities more often, because these fields focus on exploring social problems and academics in these fields are often critical of political and economic actors. In addition, academic activity and social activism often merge in these fields leading to the controversial „scholactivism” (see Farnum 2016; Ramsey 2018).

The panel examines recent developments in the global dynamics of academic freedom from a comparative perspective. The empirical contributions highlight how the nature and scope of attacks on this fundamental scientific right are shifting. First, we present cross-temporal, cross-disciplinary, cross-regional, and cross-national analyses of academic freedom, drawing on a bibliometric study of academic research and a content analysis of University World News coverage of academic freedom in higher education. We then examine the influence of current political contexts on academic freedom, before turning to two national case studies, the United States and Hungary, to assess how infringements affect universities and specific academic disciplines.

Friday 24 April, 9am – 10.30am

Higher education in liberal societies: expansion, purposes, and accountability, past and future

Panellists:

• Josh Patel, Edge Foundation: Universities and the Purpose of Higher Education: Expansion and Development in Post-War Britain
• Chris Millward, Birmingham: HE access policies in England during the 21st century and the Rise and Fall of the Knowledge Economy
• David Berry, Sussex: Universities and Democratic Culture: General Education in a Digital Age
• Helen Carasso, Every Student Has Their Price: The Neoliberal Remaking of English Higher Education

Liberal states, those that deploy political freedom as a means of governance, hold higher education (HE) as a common good and instrument of economic progress. The history and present of HE in liberal societies indicates this paradigm contains significant tensions.

In the UK, the period from 1945 to 1970 is remembered for ‘social democratic’ expansion funded by interventionist taxation regimes, as an instrument of social justice and democratic participation. By the 1990s, ‘neoliberal’ models were ascendent, purporting to secure the accountability of HE via market forces, but narrowing the civic epistemic purposes of higher education. UK governments argued that investing in expanding HE participation and research would be a better strategy for navigating globalisation and technological change than restricting trade and mobility.

There are now, however, signs that some of these liberal principles may be under revision or even entirely abandoned. In the UK, this is marked by the financial crisis of 2007-08 and Brexit, and it is accompanied by a resurgent far-right across the liberal world. The 1999 50% participation target for England was achieved in 2017, but it has been repudiated by governments since the UK left the European Union (EU) in 2020.  It has now been replaced by a 67% target including ‘gold standard’ apprenticeships and technical qualifications, which signals a profound recalibration of the relationship between higher learning, work, and citizenship.

This panel examines how the liberal imaginary of HE, including its understanding of its contribution and its relationship with the good, free society and the validity of different funding methodologies, has and continues to evolve. To what extent are the tensions untenable? Do the apparent contrasts between social democratic and market models conceal a deeper continuity? Are alternative imaginaries necessary to confront the equity and sustainability crises confronting global HE today?

Friday 24 April, 11am – 12.30pm

Higher education cooperation in the global south: Reframing influences on knowledge creation and sharing

Panellists:

• Shen Wenqin (Peking University): The Shifting of Spaces? Chinese Elite University Students’ Decision-making on Studying Abroad Destinations
• Tai Lee Ming (Asian Development Bank): ADB’s Role in South-South Cooperation in Higher Education
• Oluwasegun Adesola Oladipo (Zhejiang Normal University): Transnational Education in the Global South: Success Factors from Sino-Foreign Degree Programmes
• Taís Bahia (Peking University): Brazil-China Cooperation in Higher Education: Managing Transnational Education Partnerships

In an era shaped by globalisation, countries of the Global South are increasingly questioning the colonial and neocolonial structures and dynamics that have historically influenced their educational and political systems. Among these, countries such as China, Brazil, India, and several African nations have gained prominence due to their increasing economic and demographic relevance, which has expanded opportunities for South–South and North-South cooperation, particularly in higher education.

This panel explores transnational higher education as a central strategy for internationalisation, focusing on the Global South. Transnational education (TNE) partnerships are increasingly seen not only as mechanisms to enhance institutional performance, research capacity, and global visibility, but also as platforms for intercultural dialogue and the pursuit of shared developmental goals. Participants will examine how global pressures, including university rankings and knowledge diplomacy, intersect with national priorities and shape the design and outcomes of internationalisation strategies.

The discussion draws on political, economic, and cultural perspectives to analyse how bilateral and multilateral collaborations are negotiated and implemented, and how these dynamics influence both policy and practice. For that, it considers key drivers of internationalisation, such as academic mobility, joint research initiatives, and institutional networking, alongside the practical challenges these partnerships face in different national contexts.

By critically examining these experiences, the panel highlights how TNE contribute to more resilient, equitable, and contextually grounded higher education systems. It identifies factors underpinning successful collaborations in the Global South, offering insights into cooperation models that promote innovation, sustainability, and educational sovereignty. Perspectives from different countries and institutions provide a comparative lens to understand how diverse Southern actors navigate opportunities and constraints in shaping mutually beneficial partnerships.

Ultimately, this panel aims to foster dialogue among scholars and practitioners about strategies to strengthen inclusive and sustainable higher education collaborations, with implications for policy, research, and institutional practice across the Global South.

Friday 24 April, 1.30pm – 3pm (Online)

Anti-gender, diversity and the democratic university: Epistemic struggles and infrastructures

Panellists:

• Dr Daniel Schumann (Freie Universität Berlin)
• Prof Kathrin Zippel, PhD (Freie Universität Berlin)
• Prof Kathrin Zippel, PhD (Freie Universität Berlin) – Epistemic Warfare, the Dismantling of Gender Research, and the Liberal Script in the United States
• Dr Jessica Gold (International Panel on the Information Environment) & Assoc Prof Laura Nelson (University of British Columbia) – DEI as Infrastructure – And Why We’ll Miss It When It’s Gone
• Prof Emanuela Lombardo (Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence) – Moral Panics and the Epistemic Politics of Anti-Gender Forces in Spain
• Dr Didem Ünal (University of Helsinki) – Gendered Epistemic Struggles and the Politics of Knowledge in Authoritarian Turkey
• Prof María Bustelo (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) University Teachers’ Evaluation in Anti-Gender Times: The Impact on Gender-Oriented Faculty
• Prof Julian Hamann (Humboldt University of Berlin) Campus Culture: Academic Freedom and the Responsibility of the Democratic University
• Dr Marina Cino Pagliarello (London School of Economics) European University Alliances as Infrastructures of Informal Diplomacy: Negotiating Autonomy, Democratic Values and Geopolitical Pressures
• Dr Daniel Schumann (Freie Universität Berlin) Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water? European University Alliances and DEI

The global “equity crisis” in higher education is not only about access, affordability, and funding models – it is also deeply epistemic. Around the world, universities have been contested arenas where questions of whose knowledge counts and whose voices are silenced are at the heart of broader political struggles. This panel examines how anti-DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and anti-gender mobilizations intensify the equity crisis by challenging the very legitimacy of knowledge fields, reshaping academic authority, and narrowing the democratic potential of higher education and critical knowledge production.

The starting point of this roundtable is to consider (anti-)gender and diversity alongside (anti-)democracy as two interwoven processes shaping science and higher education. It builds on existing scholarship (e.g., CCINDLE and SCRIPTS) and selected outcomes of an international workshop on “Contested Spaces of Democracy and Inclusion in European Universities” (Berlin, November 2025), which brings together scholars working on gender and diversity, (de-)democratization, and higher education. Continuing and expanding this dialogue, the roundtable places a special focus on how epistemic struggles around democracy and inclusion intersect with the infrastructures of higher education. These infrastructures – e.g. ranging from systems of teaching evaluation and university DEI programs to research (de-)funding mechanisms and transnational strategic partnerships – configure, at different institutional scales, the conditions that may strengthen or weaken democratic and inclusive spaces.

We illustrate this through empirical examples from three world regions (Europe, North America, Middle East) and across higher education fields (research, teaching, administration). Particular emphasis is placed on the European Universities Initiative (EUI), which funds 65 transnational alliances with over 570 participating HEIs. The roundtable reflects on their role in epistemic struggles around democracy and inclusion and asks if and how such alliances can build resilient structures in anti-democratic times – both in Europe and globally.

Friday 24 April, 1.30pm – 3pm (Seminar Room C)

China-Africa: Reflections on Cultural Exchange and Educational Collaboration

Panellists:

• Prof David Mills (Oxford University)
• Prof Ka Ho Mok (The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong) on African students learning experience in China: Implications for China and Africa relation
• Prof Padmore Amoah (Lingnan University, Hong Kong) on China and Africa Relations: Cultural Exchange and Educational Collaborations
• Dr Ayomide Oluwaseyi Oladosu (The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong) on African Students’ Wellbeing and Integration in Hong Kong and Canada
• Dr Thandi Lewin (University of Johannesburg)
• Prof Xie Ailei (South China Normal University) on African students in ASEAN countries

China and Africa have engaged not only in trade and infrastructural projects but also in cultural and educational exchanges. In the last decade or so, China has attracted an increasing number of students to study or engage in academic exchange with major Chinese universities. This panel sets out against the growing impact of geopolitics on higher education to critically examine how China and Africa continue to promote cultural and educational exchange, research collaboration and other forms of collaborations. Speakers joining the panel will discuss whether the deep collaborations between China and Africa can offer a new theoretical lens to analyze cross-continent and inter-university collaborations by making reference to Chinese concept of “relational” and humanistic orientation when fostering collaborations across countries / regions and organizations.

View full conference programme for Days 1 and 2.