In a globalised world, higher education policy and governance is no longer confined to the national level, and there have been significant shifts and expansions in governance arrangements, both upwards and downwards. With regard to the former, international organizations (IOs) – with states as members and operating across national borders – in various parts of the world (or globally) are of a particular interest. Thus far, research has primarily focused on a handful of IOs.

Against this backdrop, Higher Education Policy invites scholars to contribute to a special issue on “International Organisations and Higher Education”.
Scholarly contributions from a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches are welcome. A tentative set of questions guides the content of the special issue:

1. What roles do IOs play in higher education, both globally and on the national level?
2. How has the population of IOs focusing on higher education developed over time and space? What patterns, if any, can be identified, and how can they be explained?
3. What are the antecedents and consequences of relationships between various IOs, both those operating in different parts of the world and those that overlap in their geographical focus?
4. How do IOs relate to other actors in higher education governance and policy-making, e.g. nation states, transnational stakeholder organizations (e.g. IAU) etc.?
5. In an increasingly complex geopolitical situation, how does higher education relate to wider political and societal developments? What is the role of IOs focusing on higher education in this regard, for example in specific crisis situations?

Proposals for the special issue need to have the form of an extended abstract, outlining the following elements: (1) research objective / questions, (2) relevance of the proposal for the special issue, (3) theoretical and methodological approach, (4) (preliminary) results and conclusions. Proposals should not exceed 1000 words (excluding references), and should be sent to dorota.dakowska@sciencespo-aix.fr and martina.vukasovic@uib.no no later than 15 January 2025.

The full call for papers can be downloaded here.