The Shifting Geopolitics of Global Higher Education: Navigating a Multipolar and Fragmented Landscape
In a rapidly evolving global higher education landscape, university leaders and practitioners face unprecedented challenges that transcend traditional academic boundaries. The once-unquestioned dominance of Western—chiefly American—universities and research paradigms is steadily giving way to a multipolar world order marked by emerging centers of excellence, geopolitical tensions, and evolving patterns of collaboration and competition. Simon Marginson, a leading expert in higher education studies affiliated with the Universities of Bristol and Oxford, sheds critical light on these transformations in his recent seminal paper published in ECNU Review of Education titled Space, Power, and Globalization: On the Geopolitics of Higher Education.
Marginson’s work meticulously traces the historical contours of global academic power from the hegemonic reign of Euro-American universities prior to World War II through the Pax Americana period post-1990, culminating in the current era characterized by fragmentation, multipolarity, and contested globalization. In this latest age, higher education is no longer bounded by the neat frameworks of unipolar dominance but is instead shaped by intersecting forces of national interests, migration policies, technology, and the shifting dynamics of global scientific collaboration.
Central to Marginson’s analysis is the idea that global higher education is not governed by abstract, deterministic forces but rather forged by the agency of human and institutional actors operating within geopolitical frameworks. This human geography perspective, informed by the work of theorists like Doreen Massey, unveils how nations, universities, faculty, and international students co-construct ‘space’ and ‘power’ in the global academic sphere. As world markets expanded and the internet revolutionized communication after 1990, the English language and American academic norms initially solidified their grip on worldwide higher education. Yet, multiplicity—diversity and decentralization of power—has gradually increased, challenging the presumptive stability of this structure.
An especially striking finding highlighted by Marginson is the burgeoning scientific output from non-Western countries, particularly China. Chinese universities now produce twice as many scientific papers as their American counterparts, signaling a redistribution of intellectual and research capacity. The advent of artificial intelligence further disrupts linguistic barriers by enabling instantaneous translation of scholarly work, thus democratizing knowledge dissemination beyond traditionally dominant language domains.
Despite these shifts, the global higher education order remains deeply influenced by five overlapping historical layers. The legacy of Euro-American colonization establishes a foundational context, succeeded by the post-1945 international legal framework anchored in sovereign states and early post-colonial aspirations. The Pax Americana era from the 1990s introduced a hegemonic form of neo-colonial influence through U.S.-dominated economic, cultural, and academic globalization. The new millennium witnessed the emergence of multipolarity as major world regions asserted more balanced influence in economy, science, and higher education. Most recently, since the mid-2010s, the architecture of the post-1990 order has undergone fragmentation and destabilization, reflecting rising nationalist sentiments, protectionism, and geopolitical rivalries.
One of the clearest manifestations of this disruption is the rise of migration resistance across many Western nations—a social and political response fueled by economic inequality and concerns over sovereignty. Early signs, such as the United Kingdom’s 2016 Brexit referendum, foreshadowed more widespread protectionist policies aimed at curbing immigration, including restrictions on international students. Once considered apolitical vectors of global knowledge exchange, student migration has become subject to governmental caps in countries like Canada, Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Such policies threaten to undermine the longstanding role of cross-border student mobility as a vital driver of internationalization and institutional cooperation.
Most conspicuous among geopolitical realignments affecting higher education is the U.S. shift away from open global engagement toward a selective, securitized approach to partnerships and mobility, particularly regarding China. This retrenchment has profoundly unsettled academic diplomacy and scientific collaboration. Heightened national security concerns and competition in technological innovation have resulted in stringent scrutiny and regulation of international researchers, often with a disproportionate impact on scholars of Chinese descent. This new era of “research securitization” includes bans on joint climate research and politicized investigations that have derailed careers and attenuated the once-flourishing scientific partnership between the two global powers.
Consequently, international exchanges between the U.S. and China have plummeted. Chinese student visas to the United States have shrunk by two-thirds between 2015 and 2023, while American students pursuing studies in China declined dramatically as well. This decline is emblematic of a broader trend in which geopolitical rivalries fracture the global scientific community and diminish the collaborative ethos that long served as higher education’s foundation. Yet it is notable that Europe’s approach remains uneven—some countries maintain openness and cooperation with the global South and East, preserving vibrant international academic flows and partnerships.
Underlying these complex dynamics is a fundamental shift in how power operates within global higher education. The era of near-total Western dominance gave way to a distributed, multipolar framework where emerging economies and educational hubs assert influence. Nevertheless, this redistribution has not occurred in a frictionless environment; instead, it collides with renewed nationalist politics, protectionism, and competing visions of globalization. Higher education institutions now must negotiate a volatile geopolitical terrain where academic freedom, mobility, and alliances are constantly redefined by external political pressures.
Marginson’s research underscores that the future configuration of global higher education will be shaped by ongoing contestations over sovereignty, collaboration, and the production of knowledge. The emergence of AI-driven technologies and the consequent dismantling of linguistic and cultural barriers offer opportunities to transcend historical power asymmetries. However, the simultaneous rise of securitization, protectionism, and geopolitical rivalry risks engendering a fractured academic ecosystem in which cooperation erodes and scientific progress slows.
To navigate this uncertain environment, universities and policymakers must embrace multidimensional strategies. This includes fostering diversified partnerships beyond traditional Western-centric models, advocating for policies that protect academic mobility and freedom, and enhancing institutional resilience through innovation and international engagement. Equally vital is the recognition that higher education serves not only as a site of knowledge production but also as a critical domain where geopolitical relations and global citizenship are constructed and contested.
In sum, the global higher education landscape today is at a pivotal crossroads. The forces of fragmentation and multipolarity signal both the end of an era of unipolar dominance and the emergence of a more complex but potentially more equitable world order. Academic actors must be astute to the spatial and political configurations that shape their work, leveraging human agency and institutional power to build cooperative architectures suited to the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
Simon Marginson’s Space, Power, and Globalization thus offers an indispensable framework for understanding the geopolitics that underpin higher education today. His systematic review not only charts the historical evolution of global academic power but also highlights the pressing need to rethink how universities and scholars engage across borders amid rising geopolitical contestation. As the global higher education ecosystem continues to evolve, such insights are essential for steering the sector toward a future where knowledge transcends divisions rather than deepening them.
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Space, Power, and Globalization: On the Geopolitics of Higher Education
News Publication Date: 2-Jul-2025
Web References: https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311251352111
References: Marginson, S. (2025). Space, Power, and Globalization: On the Geopolitics of Higher Education. ECNU Review of Education. DOI: 10.1177/20965311251352111
