Taking stock of the Bologna process at 20: The possibilities and limits of soft law governance

Abstract

The Bologna Process stands as both an exemplar of regional cooperation in the higher education policy sector and as a comparatively successful instance of the use of so-called 'soft law governance' policy instruments. While the formal launch of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in 2010 represents a significant milestone in the process, it nevertheless left many politically sensitive questions unanswered. Today, as this pan-European process now marks two decades of existence, many of the questions concerned with the direction and purpose of the process are being addressed with increasing urgency. Against this background, the present paper specifically focuses on recent debates surrounding the (non-)implementation of key commitments; on the functioning of the EHEA as a policy forum in relation to both its own membership and the wider international higher education policy landscape; and on the manner in which the EHEA may respond to increasingly serious challenges to the fundamental values that underpin the process. The authors draw on both the substantial body of scholarship that has emerged on the process and practitioner insights to examine its past achievements and current challenges, while having in mind the specificity of the EHEA as a policy process in a complex European context. Finally, the paper underlines the need for a more nuanced understanding of the EHEA governance model, based on an overall balance sheet that suggests the likely direction(s) of the process going forward.