The geopolitics of transnational education: critical perspectives

This special extended CGHE webinar brings together four scholars to talk about their critical research on the geopolitics of transnational higher education (TNE).

The geopolitics of the diversification of TNE
Speaker: Eva Hartmann
Abstract:
Eva’s research seeks to enrich the emerging scholarship on the power relations that underpin Transnational Education (TNE). This rapidly expanding sector now accounts for approximately 10% of the UK’s education-related export revenue, contributing to the overall total of £27.9 billion. Eva will begin by delineating a notion of geopolitics that draws on critical geography and decolonial studies and will show how it can be utilised to analyse the intricate dynamics between power, knowledge, and space within TNE. By examining the diverse forms that TNE provision can take, she will demonstrate how these variations enable distinct interactions between these elements. This analysis will offer deeper insights into the implications of the diversification within TNE, a trend that has accelerated in recent years, which she will illustrate with data from HESA. To further unpack the power dynamics involved, she will link this discussion to findings from a recent study of hers that explored how stratification among British degree-awarding institutions shaped the diversification of TNE and influenced regional preferences among UK providers. She will conclude by discussing some significant implications of this intra-sector stratification for the complex interplay between power, knowledge, and transnational space and, more generally, for the power relationship underpinning North-South relations.

Re-spatialising and re-scaling: A geopolitical perspective of China’s transnational higher education in Southeast Asia
Speaker: Jingran Yu
Abstract:
The geopolitical importance of transnational higher education (TNHE) is increasingly recognised. While China is well-established as a leading host of TNHE, its emerging role as an exporter and the associated geopolitical implications remain underexplored. Based on data collected during recent fieldwork at a Chinese international branch campus in Malaysia, this study examines TNHE from a geopolitical perspective, especially in terms of re-spatialisation and re-scaling. The study not only incorporates the situated perceptions of diverse stakeholders on campus—including Malaysian Chinese, Chinese, and other international students, administrative staff, and faculty—but also draws on perspectives gathered from the local Chinese community, other Chinese educational institutions, and higher education institutions in Kuala Lumpur. It thus provides contextualised knowledge and multifaceted perspectives on how this institution navigates and negotiates complex geopolitical turbulence, as well as the diverse geographical imaginations and spatial orders it generates.

This study is part of ongoing research into China’s transnational education and technical assistance in Southeast Asia. It offers a nuanced and up-to-date understanding of this under-researched topic, contributing to the emerging scholarship on the (new) geopolitics of higher education. It transcends the ‘territorial trap’ (Agnew, 1994) and adopts a constructivist approach informed by critical geopolitics to investigate geopolitics from ‘the bottom up’, advocating for a multi-scalar and multi-actor approach and highlighting the actorhood of higher education in making and doing geopolitics.

Geopolitical dynamics in transnational higher education: Student experiences and the shifting center-periphery relations
Speaker: Wanwei Nie
Abstract:
This study critically examines the historical dimensions of transnational higher education (TNHE), emphasizing the paramount significance of students’ personal experiences within the broader context of geopolitical influences on higher education. Focusing on institutions geographically linked to foreign elite universities, the research investigates the nuanced interplay between transnational initiatives and their profound implications.

Since the ‘transnational turn’ of the early 1990s, TNHE has become integral to global internationalization, encompassing initiatives such as international branch campuses (IBCs) and Sino-foreign cooperation programs. Despite the growing scholarly interest in TNHE, its historical dimensions remain underexplored compared to the longer-established history of internationalization in higher education. This research adopts a microhistorical lens, leveraging oral history interviews, archival materials, and visual documents to unravel the intricate experiences of individuals within TNHE.
Within the context of shifting geopolitical landscapes, this study reconsiders the relationships between the center and periphery in education. By foregrounding the students’ perspective, it highlights a bottom-up process that offers insights transcending conventional evaluations of TNHE. A critical understanding of the interconnections between students’ experiences in IBCs and the broader social fabric underscores their complex involvement in ongoing transformations of social class dynamics, driven by the expansion of higher education.

Beyond borders: Exploring the impact of UK transnational education in Malaysia’s multiethnic context
Speaker: Nadiah Thanthawi Jauhari
Abstract:
Malaysia is increasingly important in its geopolitical role as it navigates its position between China and the West. At the same time, Malaysia has become the second-largest host country for UK TNE, with over 40,000 students enrolled in the UK TNE programmes in Malaysia in 2022-2023. It is vital to reflect on the relationship between knowledge and power and how knowledge production perpetuates colonialism, as the geopolitics of knowledge is closely intertwined with the geopolitics of understanding. I will briefly summarise Malaysia’s colonial history to illustrate the consequences of knowledge production on the colonised subject and their histories, the geopolitical landscape, the development of its higher education and the TNE provisions in this context. This case study explores the impact of TNE provisions on students’ learning to examine the role of TNE in reproducing and potentially challenging colonial thinking. The findings reveal a nuanced and multifaceted effect of TNE that transcends beyond a simplistic good/bad dichotomy.