University rankings as a zoning technology: a Taiwanese perspective on an imaginary Greater China higher education region

Abstract

This paper argues that global university rankings can be understood as a mechanism upholding Taiwan's interests in light of cross-national analysis of university ranking and recent discussion on regionalisation of higher education in Asia. To draw an analytical framework, it begins by delineating a conceptualisation of university ranking, in which ranking exercises are seen as a form of institutions in the globalised field of education politics and policy. In anticipation of the emergence of the Greater China higher education region, the paper suggests that global university ranking can be used as a zoning technology to form an imaginary line of cultural and academic sovereignty, and to affect university strategies and government policies. This analysis not only explains how global university rankings can be used to uphold interests of Taiwan's higher education, but also sheds light on the way to constitute subjectivity in the process of regionalisation of worldwide higher education.

Keywords:

• university rankings
• regionalisation
• higher education
• Taiwan
• Greater China
• world-class university

Notes

1. Three rounds of intensive fieldwork were carried out in 2010 and 2012. A total of 32 interviews with key actors and stakeholders in Taiwan's higher education sector were conducted.

2. ‘Greater China’ is used as an umbrella term for the purpose of analysis in this work. It is recognised that China comprises disparate regions at the sub-national level, and the relation between the People's Republic of China (PRC or mainland China) and the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) is politically sensitive. Indeed, the Taiwanese government faces a dilemma in handling the cross-Taiwan strait relations. On the one hand, given the rapid economic growth of PRC, we have witnessed a process of economic collaboration and integration between Taiwan and mainland China in recent years. On the other hand, there are enduring political tensions because of the differences in political beliefs held by the two societies. This complex situation exemplifies the political economy of higher education development in the Greater China region (see Lo 2013 for details).

3. Chen uses the notion of base-entities (jiti) to illustrate the points of reference in the discussion of subjectivity in Asia. According to this understanding of Asia, the region consists of different base-entities; and an originating basis (muti) is needed for understanding this proposition (Chen 2010, 248–253, citing Mizoguchi Yuzo 1996 [1989]). The muti here is China or Chinese societies.