Internationalization Under Intractable Conflict: The Influence of National Conflict on Israeli Higher Education Institutions’ Internationalization Efforts

Abstract

Intractable conflicts are usually defined as long-lasting, violent, intergroup ones perceived as having no foreseen solutions. Such conflicts heavily affect the societies involved, which invest massive resources in all issues related to the conflict, including various educational elements. Regardless of the context of national conflict, internationaliation efforts have become a common reality in the strategy and actions of contemporary higher education institutions, with international, intercultural, and global dimensions integrating into the aims, functions, and delivery of education. This article traces the internationalization process as perceived among various stakeholders involved in policymaking and enactment within a society struggling through intractable conflict, namely, Israel. I scrutinized this process in Israel and explored the apparent mismatch between the theory of internationalization and its practice in the reality of a conflict-ridden society.

Notes

¹However, Israeli teachers’ training colleges are currently undergoing a process of transformation and reform, which will result in a significant decrease in the number of institutions operating and budgeted under the PBC (thus becoming more similar to other higher education institutions).

²Three Arab teachers’ training colleges operate in Israel, and several more institutions have specific institutes or departments targeted particularly at Arab populations and oriented toward preparing teachers for Arab communities (Arar, Abramovitz, & Bar-Yishai, 2015).