In Defence of International Comparative Studies. on the Analytical and Explanatory Power of the Nation State in International Comparative Higher Education Research

Overview & Synopsis

Higher education is undergoing a process of globalization and new realities of a globalized higher education world are emerging. Globalization also has a profound impact on higher education research. Global and transnational topics are theoretically and empirically elaborated and seem on the rise, whereas the international comparative outlook seems to become outdated in a world where national spaces become more and more global. On the basis of a bibliometric analysis of the state and development of both international comparative and global and transnational higher education studies and based on a critique of the methodological nationalism, this article discusses the analytical and explanatory power of international comparative higher education studies and lessons that both fields can learn from each other. The suggestion is that international comparative studies could embrace transnational and global studies to develop towards a methodological glocalism instead of being outlived.