The Politics of Higher Education Policy in Canada, the U.S., and Western Europe – An Introduction

Abstract

Higher education policy has become a more salient issue in modern states as universities are increasingly important for societal and economic development. This leads to an increased politicisation of this policy area. At the same time, there is a lack of comparative scholarship studying the politics of higher education policy on both sides of the Atlantic. This is the gap that this volume addresses. This chapter introduces the idea behind the volume. It describes the rationale for studying the politics of higher education policy as well as the specific regional focus on Canada, the U.S., and Western Europe. Moreover, it introduces the conceptual framework underpinning the volume which combines sociological and historical institutionalism. Additionally, the chapter specifies the comparative approach applied in the volume and describes considerations regarding its research design. Finally, it introduces the structure of the volume and provides an overview over the different sections that follow.