Regionalism, ‘Europe/Asia’ & Higher Education
Susan Robertson
U of Bristol
WUN/CKS Horizon’s
Series
Policy Futures in Higher
Education
Outline
•
Regionalism/inter-regionalism within the wider
framework of globalisation
•
Europe/Asia and the development of an imaginary of
Europe in Asia
•
Higher education as a strategy and mechanism for
developing emerging regionalisms
•
Possibilities and limitations of higher education as a
vehicle for constructing regionalism
Defining regionalism
Refers to a formal process of intergovernmental
collaboration between two or more states
(Ravenshill, 2005).
Regions are social constructions, and can be viewed
as a particular ‘scale’ of activity that is ‘bounded’ or
has borders to define those in and those out
(Brenner, 2004)
Bilateral agreements are also considered as regional
agreements by the WTO
By the end of 2002, there were more than 25
transregional and inter-regional agreements
Why Regionalism?
Political reasons
…economic cooperation and confidence building,
security, bargaining tool, a means of locking in reform;
satisfy domestic political constituencies, ease of
negotiating and implementing agreements
Economic reasons
…access to a larger domestic market, attract additional
foreign direct investment (FDI), protect sensitive
industries, engage in deeper integration
Cultural/Political
Forge an identity (cf. European identity, African identity)
on behalf of the constituent nation
First Phase of Regionalism
1940s Cold War regional blocs – Communist/West
1952 European Coal and Steel Community
1957 Treaty of Rome created the European
Economic Community
1962 Organisation for African Unity
1967 European Community with its decisionmaking
structures
1967 Assocation of South East Asian Nations
The Rise of New Regionalism/Inter-Regionalisms
Globalisation and regionalism appear to be anti-thetical forces
but currently one tends to generate the other
Regions are subjects of globalisation (Dale and Robertson,
2002)
Regionalism is a means of harnessing pressures of
globalisation (Ravenhill, 200
A new regionalism is emerging along with new forms of
inter-regionalism (eg.Asia-Europe, North America-Asia) as
means of countering regional blocks
Regionalisms
Between 1995-2003
the WTO received a
further 130, noting
that ther were a
further 75 pending
Between 19481994 there were
only 124
notifications to
the GATT of
regional trading
agreements;
New Regionalisms
Responses to globalisation
1989 APEC – Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation
1992 EC/EU Maarstrict Treaty
1991 Mercosur – Souther Common
Market
1994 North American Free Trade
Agreement
2001 NEPAD New Partnership for
African Development
EU
The European Union or EU is an intergovernmental and
supranational union of 25 European countries, known as Member
States.
The European Union was established in 1992 by the Treaty on
European Union (the Maastricht Treaty). However, many aspects
of the Union date back to 1951.
The European Union's activities cover all areas of public policy,
from health and economic policy to foreign affairs and defence.
The most important EU institutions are the Council of the
European Union the European Commission the European
Parliament and the European Court of Justice
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
is a political, economic, and cultural organization of
countries located in Southeast Asia. Formed on August
8th 1967, by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
and the Phillipines as a non-provocative display of
solidarity against communist expansion in Vietnam and
insurgency within their own borders.
Following the Bali Summit of 1976, the organisation
embarked on a programme of economic cooperation,
which floundered in the mid-1980's only to be revived
around a 1991 Thai proposal for a regional "free trade
area". The countries meet annually.
APEC
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a group
of Pacific Rim countries who meet with the purpose of
improving economic and political ties. It holds annual
meetings in each of the member countries and has standing
committees on a wide range of issues, from
communications to fisheries and education and training.
Currently, most countries (21 in all) with a coastline on the
Pacific Ocean are members of the organization; they
include USA, Japan, Australia, Canada, Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Russia, Chile
Early Europe-Asia Inter-Regionalism
•Europe-Asia are not strangers – colonial presence e.g.
Portugal and East Timor, Netherlands and Indonesia
•1967-80 first phase of institutional contact
•1980 Cooperation Agreement with ASEAN based on
technical assistance, commercial and economic cooperation,
institutionalised meetings.
•By 1990s, clear CA had weaknesses – no budget,a trade
rather than investment focus, development aid, and did not
account for changes in global economy
•Concern that Japan and the USA were using APEC to
position themselves within the region (Yang, 2001)
Difficulties in Europe-ASEAN relationship
ASEAN-EEC largely a trade agenda, while Europe tended to
focus on own ‘European project’
Europe had not wanted to encourage ASEAN as a region, but
overlooked the emerging power of India and China
Differing views amongst EU member states as to
developments in Asia (Timor)
But new political agenda with EU Parliament promoting and
defending ‘European values’ e.g. human rights, fair trade
EC, wanting to appear ‘state like’, was thus obliged to
embrace conditionality and fair trade
However, ASEAN regarded conditionalities as controversial
Creation of ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) 1996
Proposed by Singapore in 1994 as a means for breaking the
deadlock between ASEAN and Europe
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) was officially established
in 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok ASEM is an
interregional forum which consists of the European
Commission and the twenty-five members of the European
Union (EU) and of thirteen Asian countries (Brunei,
Myanmar, China, Combodia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea,
Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam).
The main components of the ASEM process, which has been
relatively loosely organized, include: political dialogue,
security and the economy, education and culture
Struggles between regional actors
…With the rise of APEC, ASEAN became concerned with
its relatively diminished status, and it played an active
role in creating ASEM in order to keep APEC in check.
The creation of ASEM was amied not only in promoting
cooperation between ASEAN and the EU, but also in
preventing the US from becoming a dominant force in the
new international order in the post Cold War era
(Yang, 2001: 87)
Developing an Imaginary of Europe in Asia
ASEM a means of
promoting an imaginary
of Europe in Asia to
maintain economic
presence
ASEM to be a project of
‘common grandeur’
Vehicle for widening
involvement and
expanding cooperation in
new areas
However ASEM, like
ASEAN, has faced ongoing
tensions – as human rights is
excluded from agenda
(ASEM 2 1998 Spain,
Greece, Denmark and
Sweden did not attend)
ASEM 3 – Seoul
demonstrations around ASEM
as agent to neoliberal
globalisation
Higher Education - A Means for Trade and
Foreign Policy Strategy
Mention of higher education - vehicle for dialogue and
exchange of knowledge and best practice
-EC 1994 Toward a New Asia Strategy
-EC 2001 Europe and Asia: A Strategic Framework for
Enhanced Partnership
Mention of higher education – above, as well as market
for students and promoting of WTO in Asia
EC 2003 A New Partnership with South East Asia
EC 2005-2005 Strategy Paper and Indicative Programme
for Multi-Country Programmes in Asia
Blair’s (2005: 3) EU Presidential
Address
Our university sector is not competing in
the way in which it needs to with
America. China and India are developing
their university sector in an extraordinary
way …
Our proposal is that we task the
Commission specifically on coming back
and reporting to the European Council
next year on the challenge facing
European universities how we compete
with the United States how we get more
public private partnership into sustaining
them and more graduate schools linking
business and the academic world across
the European Union.
Jose Manel Barosso (EC President)
Today’s challenge is globalisation. Change
technological and societal, takes place at a
breathtaking speed. The question is whether
to resist this change or rather to manage it.
…
….I’ve just come back from China and India and what I saw was a vivid
demonstration of the sheer speed and scale of the changes going on in the
world. ..If China’s new dynamism is driven by manufacturing, then India’s
comes from services. …India is tapping into a European, indeed global
demand, for efficient services…they increasingly process the world’s tax
returns, analyze the world’s medical tests, respond to the world’s telephone
enquiries and design its software. …We must remain at the forefront through
innovation and investment in the knowledge economy.
Higher Education – Mechanisms/Instruments
HE to build awareness of Europe in Asia to enable
commerce to develop, enhance European FDI, and partner in
tackling global issues
Asia-Link (set up in 2002) is an Asia-wide programme
(South Asia, South East Asia, China) strengthen human
resourcesa nd promote networking between higher education
institutions in Europe and Asia
ASEAN—EU University Network Programme focused on
ASEAN members
ASEF – Asia-Europe Foundation ASEM partners – develop
cultural exchanges
EC 2005-2005 Strategy Paper and Indicative
Programme for Multi-Country Programmes in Asia
(p. 22)
…Both Asia and Europe have top quality institutions of
higher education, but they do not make sufficient use of
their potential for cooperation, Public intervention is
necessary to foster closer cooperation betwene the EU
and Asian institutions and help them learn form each
other’s know-how. The (Asia-Link) programme shall
target higher education groups and institutions, scientific
and research groups….
EC 2005-2005 Strategy Paper and Indicative
Programme for Multi-Country Programmes in Asia (p.
22)
In order to improve EU visibility…a limited number of key
messages…the messages should include the promotion of
scholarship programmes which the Commission intends to
set up for Asia (Erasmus Mundus)…for future decision
makers…
[Indicative budget – 25-35 Euro for higher education
(p.27)]
Asia-Link - specific aims
Support sustainable co-operation projects and multi-lateral networking
activities
Promote exchange of experiences and mobility and further training for
target groups
Attract future economic and policy decisionmakers for graduate studies to
the EU
Encourage and develop links between European and Asian institutions of
higher education
Reposition Europe as a major partner in higher education in Asia (and
vice versa)
Asia-Link Programme now has 126 projects for
funding for (i) human resource development, (ii)
curriculum development, (iii) institutional and
systems development (management structures) and
(iv) partnership projects (funding is on the basis of
75% of eligible project costs,)
ASEAN-EU Universities Network Programme
(AUNP Network Initiatives)
1 million Euro funding
•Asian-EU Rectors Conferences (sustainable development,
borderless higher education)
•Roundtables (Quality Assurance, credit transfer systems)
•Technical Assistance missions (credit transfer, quality
assurance)
•Follow-up meetings
Tensions for Higher Education
National higher education institutions increasingly caught up in
scalar division of labour of higher education (regional-interregional) and a new inter-regional economy of knowledge
production
As an instrument of foreign and trade policy means that it is
driven by different logics (R&D, science and technology
prescriptions for the competitive knowledge economy
Contradictions between politics taking place at different scalar
locations but which may produce positive as well as negative
outcomes
As part of the global circuit of cultural capital, HE institutions
faces pressures of competition between blocs