Seminar Issues of Global Governance Public Policy Governance and Higher Education

The issue of global governance is being discussed in many different fields in social science. This seminar will take a closer look at what global governance and public policy making mean, with special reference to the field of higher education policies in the Global South. We will look at questions like: where does the concept of global governance come from? What does it mean for policy making to have shifting governance arrangements? Who governs and whose ideas and interests are being represented in governance arrangements and therefore in specific policies? What is the role of International Organizations in policy processes, and especially in the Global South? The first part of the seminar will deal with various theoretical perspectives on the links between globalisation, global governance and public policy in order to gain a sound understanding of these concepts and perspectives. The role of International Organisations and the changing context of International Relations will be put into perspective. The seminar will then look at key actors and their policies in higher education. We will analyse, why specific policies are being promoted and why some actors or their policy proposals are more relevant than others. Therefore, we will review education policies of some organisations like the World Bank, OECD and UNESCO, as well as take a look at how the World Trade Organisation (WTO) changes the patterns of global governance in higher education. This analysis is linked to the study of the influence of international actors on national and international policy design and therefore to processes of policy transfer and learning. With reference to one specific field in education policy - the contested issue of standard setting and standardisation in higher education - the struggles about policy change will be analysed in comparative perspective. Rosenau, J.N. (2000): Governance in a Globalizing World. In: Held (2000): The Global Transformations Reader. Malden/Mass. P 181-190. Finnemore/Sikkink (1998): International Norm Dynamics and Political Change. In: International Organisation 52 (4), 887 - 917. Mundy, K. (1998): Educational Multilateralism and World (Dis)Order. In: Comparative Education Review, Vol 42, No.4, 448 - 478. Heyneman, S.P. (2003): The history and problems in the making of education policy at the World Bank 1960 - 2000. In: International Journal of Educational Development. 23, 315 - 337. Fischer/Miller/Sidney (2007): Handbook of Public Policy Analysis. Theory, Politics and Methods. New York. Dale, Roger (1997): The State and the Governance of Education: An Analysis of the Restructuring of the State-Education Relationship. In: Halsey/Lauder/Brown/Wells (1997) (Ed.): Education: Culture, Economy, Society. Oxford. 273 - 280. Evans, Peter (1997): The Eclipse of the State: Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalization. In: World Politics 50, 1. P. 62 - 87. FB 05 Gesellschaftswissenschaften Uni Kassel WS 2008/2009 Politikwissenschaften FB 05 Gesellschaftswissenschaften Junge ehem Dickhaus Barbara