Global models , structuration and network power : autonomy and constraint in higher education

In this presentation I would like to explore policy convergence between national higher education states, particularly the diffusion of globalizing models. The focus is on governmental policymakers: their transnational networks, worldwide reference points, and the dilemmas they face in responding to the increasing global diffusion of powerful governance models, such as those associated with the New Public Management (NPM) and forms of external accountability and quality assurance. The notion of structuration is introduced to convey the inextricability of both autonomy and structural constraint for decisionmakers in globally-situated higher education states. A key aim is to understand some of the forces that drive policy internationalization, not least those associated with the network power of dominant models and standards. The perspective on global governance used here is that of social theory.