Researching the European Higher Education Area external effectiveness: regime complexity and interplay

ABSTRACT

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) constitutes an international regime which attempts to solve intra-European problems, as well as to respond to global challenges. Using the regime complexity approach, this article investigates the external effectiveness of the EHEA, which refers to its ability to play a key-role in the Higher Education (HE) regime complex consisting of overlapping and non-hierarchical institutions governing this area. It is also related to the EHEA capacity to become a co-shaper of an emerging global HE agenda and governance architecture as well as to influence policy outcomes and tools embedded in the world order settings. Taking into consideration the leading role of EU within the EHEA our analysis demonstrates that EHEA/EU employs an interplay management strategy aiming to promote and co-shape the HE global order.

KEYWORDS:

• European Higher Education Area
• Bologna Process
• regime complexity
• interplay management
• external effectiveness

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Sharon Pardo, Hila Zahavi and Hannah Moscovitz from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Luminiţa Nicolescu, Bologna Secretariat as well as Gayane Harutyunyan, Ph.D Head of the Bologna Secretariat (2012–15) and member (2015–18).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Foteini Asderaki is an Associate Professor and a Jean Monnet Chair in European Union’s Policies in Education, Training, Research and Innovation at the Department of International and European Studies, University of Piraeus, Greece. She had been a Bologna Follow-Up Member, and a Member of the External Dimension Group (2005–9). Her research interests include EU integration theory, governance and policies. [email protected]

ORCID

Foteini Asderaki http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6776-8856

Notes

1. The ESGs have been revised in cooperation with Education International and BussinessEurope in 2015.

2. The European Higher Education Area in a global context: Report on overall developments at the European, national and institutional levels.

3. Advisory Group 1. 2018. On EHEA International Cooperation. Final Report.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid, 8.

6. The European Economic Area countries are Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein.

7. Articles 216 and 217 TFEU.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Erasmus+/Jean Monnet, Nexus of European Centers Abroad for Research on EHEA-NEAR-EU [Grant No 2016 - 1737/001 - 001].