Abstract
U.S. Power in International Higher Education, edited by Jenny J Lee, examines the nature of power in international education through a focus on the United States. The centrality of the US in the book is due to the country’s leading power in academic rankings, English language, and political power. Although the book views the US centrally, its authors make clear that the issues and motivations seen in international higher education in the US are present around the world and that the concept of internationalization needs to be reconsidered on a global scale. In this way, the US acts as an example for comparison of other countries’ educational systems.
The aim of the book is to show that the movement for internationalization in higher education is not only educationally based, but geopolitically motivated. Each chapter provides a critical outlook of an aspect of international higher education, especially within American higher education, and discusses how internationalization is shaped by power, especially geopolitical power and economic power. The authors analyze internationalization within the context of recent events and trends, such as rising populism and neo-racism as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
This book review will provide a chapter-by-chapter summary of the themes and critiques presented by the authors. I will then provide concluding thoughts and a critique of the book.
Studies of power in international higher education
U.S. Power in International Higher Education is composed of 12 chapters written by a total of 14 authors. Editor and author Jenny J Lee begins the book by making her case that geopolitical interests have been and will continue to be a key influence on international higher education. This chapter, “International higher education as geopolitical power,” describes how the concepts of internationalization and globalization have been used as avenues for greater Westernization in the world, and that internationalization has been used as an arm of geopolitical power. The chapter then transitions to the role of the United States of America in international higher education and describes how the US has used internationalization for soft power and to caution how national power easily influences international education policy and practice.
The second chapter, “International education as soft power,” by Roopa Desai Trilokekar, is the first in the section focusing on geopolitics and the regulation of higher education. This chapter provides an overview of US federal policy regarding international education since 1945, specifically describing how US foreign policy has used international education as a tool for furthering the country’s soft power. Trilokekar concludes the chapter with a discussion about how primary motivation for US expansion of international education has always been to advance the country’s interests and national security.
The third chapter, “What do global university rankings tell us about U.S. geopolitics in higher education?,” by Ellen Hazelkorn, provides a thorough overview and discussion about the development of university ranking systems and what they signify today. Originally created as independent measurements of quality, accountability, and transparency, university rankings have served as a simple way to provide centralized institutional information for the sake of comparison. Hazelkorn then argues that what international university rankings show is the outcome of competitive advantage through the use of colonialism through history and that the rankings serve to reproduce these effects.
The discussion of geopolitics in higher education transitions from rankings to accreditation in the chapter “International accreditation as geopolitical space,” by Gerardo L Blanco. Using postcolonial theory, the chapter provides a discourse analysis of accreditors to study how they position US-based accreditation as the standard that the rest of the world should follow. Blanco closes the chapter with a call to create new accreditation standards that can better reflect the needs and standards of the local and regional communities that institutions serve.
The next chapter, “Geopolitical tensions and global science,” by John P Haupt and Jenny J Lee, begins the book’s section focusing on national and global research. The authors describe how knowledge production drives economic growth in the present day, which places significance on each country’s research output. The chapter then pivots to focus extensively on the tensions between the United States and China regarding scientific and technical collaboration. The concepts of scientific nationalism and scientific globalism are introduced and the authors argue that a scientific globalism approach would benefit both countries.
The sixth chapter, “Concepts for understanding the geopolitics of graduate student and postdoc mobility,” by Brandon Cantwell, focuses on how the United States benefits from the significant number of international graduate students in the country, especially regarding the STEM fields. Cantwell argues that the US enjoys significant soft power through hosting large numbers of international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. The geopolitics of international graduate student mobility is then studied through the lenses of techno-nationalism, neo-nationalism, and agency-based models.
Chapter 7, “Exploring geopolitics in U.S. campus internationalization plans,” by Chrystal A George Mwanghi, Sean Jung-Hau Chen, and Pempho Chinkondenji, opens the section of the book about university internationalization strategies. The authors argue that US universities’ motivations for campus internationalization come more from desires for financial gain and greater university reputation as opposed to motivations of diplomacy. The chapter then explores a critical discourse analysis of internationalization strategies of 78 Association of International Education Administrators member institutions and closes with a discussion of how multiple discourses reflect one-sided benefits to the American institutions and their surrounding communities with little focus on the impact on their global partners. The authors state that further analysis of internationalization strategies of institutions in other countries would be beneficial to compare against the strategies at the American institutions.
Building on the discussion of mutually beneficial partnerships, “The life cycle of transnational partnerships in higher education” by Dale Lafleur provides a critique of international partnerships and provides suggestions for improvements to prevent partnerships from being one-sided. The chapter gives an overview of transnational partnership development and gives examples of strategies that institutions use. The chapter closes with an original model of transnational partnership development: the Transnational Partnership Life Cycle. The inclusion of an actionable model that readership may use at their own institutions is greatly welcome.
The final section of the book, “Students and international learning,” opens with the chapter “Global positional competition and interest convergence” by Christina W Yao. In perhaps the strongest chapter in the book, the author introduces the framework of academic imperialism to analyze the commodification of students and how the United States benefits from their mobility. The chapter describes how the US uses academic imperialism to exert dominance over the import and export of students in global higher education. Through the lens of academic imperialism, the chapter explores three different aspects of the current student mobility discourse: positional competition, academic dependency, and interest convergence. Of particular interest is the discussion of academic dependency, as Yao discusses how Western nations, especially the United States, establish Western intellectual models as the norm and promote a dependency of people from the Global South upon these intellectual models and Western nations for higher education. The author closes with a discussion calling for the end of viewing students as commodities and ending colonial mindsets in study abroad.
The 10th chapter, “Global competence,” by Chris R Glass, explores the hidden frames of the global competence discourse. The chapter begins by discussing the evolution of the concept of global competence, delineating it into four waves and ending with the nationalist and populist reactions to it considering Brexit and Donald Trump’s presidency. Glass then examines the aspects of economic competition, national security, and Western superiority that are embedded in the global competence discourse. This chapter should serve as a warning to international education practitioners who promote “global competence” without acknowledging the hidden structures of these discourses. Especially concerning is a critical assumption that Glass identifies in this chapter: that changing students’ values and beliefs through educational practices focusing on global competence leads to a “better” world filled with “globally competent” citizens.
Sharon Stein’s chapter, “Internationalizing the curriculum,” concludes the “Students and international learning” section of the book. The chapter covers how curriculum internationalization has been used to promote internationalization at universities for students who do not study abroad. Current trends and historical precedents for curriculum internationalization are presented, including the use of narratives about American exceptionalism in the curriculum. Stein then provides four different conceptions of curriculum internationalization, each with different motivations and outcomes. An important point made in the chapter is that, although curriculum internationalization is discussed within an American context, the patterns of nationalism, exceptionalism, and economic benefit found in internationalized curricula can also be found in the curricula in other nations comprising the Global North.
The final chapter of the book, “Where do we go from here?,” by Jenny J Lee and Santiago Castiell-Gutierrez, provides a summary and suggestions for action based on the previous chapters. The chapter provides suggestions in the areas of rankings, research, institutional strategies and partnerships, and student mobility and learning. Perhaps the most significant suggestion is that institutions should focus on values-based programs instead of economics-based programs, reframing how internationalization is often viewed at American institutions. The authors close by calling for a reexamination of internationalization, specifically to move internationalization courses beyond geopolitical frames.
A disconcerting discussion of internationalization
Editor Jenny J Lee warned readers in the opening chapter in U.S. Power in International Higher Education that the book would provide more problems than solutions, and the weight of that reality is heavy as one reads through the book. Each chapter provides a thorough analysis of power in international higher education from a viewpoint that many practitioners in the field may not have considered before. The authors provide a stark analysis of how countries, such as the United States, use international education to increase their geopolitical power and economic gains. Stakeholders in international education who read this book must ask themselves how their efforts support students or if they simply continue to promote the power gains of nation-states.
Chapters 9 through 11 are some of the best in the book, as they provide cutting critiques of international higher education but balance that with suggestions for systemic change. While the book is honest about providing mostly critique, the result is that the reader may feel like the situation is hopeless. Lee and Castiell-Gutierrez argue in the final chapter that universities can take leadership in creating a more ethical approach to internationalization, but this does not in itself provide opportunities for action for the reader.
One area of improvement for the book would be to discuss issues of agency for students. Besides the sixth chapter’s focus on graduate student mobility, individual agency is rarely discussed. The book argues against the commodification of students but does not do these same students justice to acknowledge that they are individuals who are making complex choices for their education and their lives. A thorough discussion of agency would have been especially welcome in the chapter analyzing the use of university rankings.
The book’s framing of issues of geopolitical power within recent events provides the book with a sense of urgency. However, in the time since the chapters were written President Biden’s administration made significant rollbacks to the “America First” policies, initiated by the previous administration, that sought to limit international student mobility to the US. Additionally, the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States has improved its status as a destination for international students. While the US was seeing downturns in international student applications in recent years, the country is experiencing a significant increase in international student applications. Thus, U.S. Power in International Higher Education serves as an effective time capsule for higher education during the pandemic. The book is alternatively timely and yet already slightly out of date.
U.S. Power in International Higher Education is a thought-provoking and urgent text that has the potential to influence international educators to reexamine their field and practices. The chapters on student learning are especially useful as they provide analysis of issues that can be addressed by stakeholders at all levels of institutions. While the book is focused on the United States, this is suggested reading for any international education practitioner to address systemic issues with international higher education within their own nations and institutions.
