Welcome to the Global Middle Ages of Internationalization

The world is chaotic. That’s the era we’re in. A new era. Welcome to the Global Middle Ages of Internationalization - a time of distributed power, shifting alliances, new opportunities enabled by emerging technologies, and unprecedented complexity.

Just as the pre-Westphalian Middle Ages saw power distributed among competing authorities, today’s landscape of international higher education is undergoing a similar reconfiguration. These long-term shifts have been occurring for decades, but their contours are just now beginning to take shape.

This article explores Dr. Parag Khanna's analysis of geopolitics in, The Coming Entropy of Our World Order, and its potential impact on the future of the internationalization of higher education. We discuss the shifting dynamics and what higher education researchers, policymakers, and leaders might do to navigate the challenges – and opportunities – in this new era.

What is the Global Middle Ages?

The concept of a Global Middle Ages offers more than just a metaphor - it provides an analytical framework for understanding the current state of international affairs, including higher education. This diagnosis of the present state of affairs, supported by recent research from RAND, suggests we have entered a new era characterized by:

• A multipolar world with resurgent regional powers

• Fluid alliances of state and non-state actors

• A more chaotic, unpredictable global order

The old system of nation-states is giving way to a complex web of power reminiscent of the medieval period, where diverse actors - from countries and corporations to international organizations - compete for influence in a fluid, interconnected global landscape.

We see similar patterns in the internationalization of higher education:

• Regional education hubs are growing in influence, offering a compelling alternative to Western higher education.

• The BRICS Summit in Russia just finished underscores the shift towards a multipolar world and fragmentation that challenges traditional Western-dominated institutions like the G7, aimed at reshaping global order with a focus on regional and bilateral partnerships.

• The European Commission recently unveiled its “Guidelines on tackling research and innovation (R&I) foreign interference" that (re)defines “responsible internationalization” to be “as open as possible, as closed as necessary.”

• Universities form flexible, project-based collaborations, prioritizing adaptable partnerships over rigid, permanent institutional ties.

• Students and scholars contend with disruptions to mobility like Brexit's impact on UK universities or U.S.-China tensions impact on US universities.

And let’s not forget the ambitious global tech giants. We’ll get to that too.

Drivers of Change in Internationalization

This new era marks more than just a geographical reconfiguration. It signifies the rise of competing educational models and philosophies, moving from a hierarchical, Western-dominated system to one where multiple centers of excellence coexist – and compete. The reconfiguration is already evident in several key areas:

New Regional Hubs of Excellence

There is a significant rebalancing of international higher education, with new players emerging as influential hubs:

• China has transformed from a primary exporter of students to a major destination for international students, with a 70% increase in enrollment over the past decade.

• Countries like Singapore, Qatar, and the UAE are creating world-class education centers that offer compelling alternatives to Western models and more regionalized patterns of academic exchange.

These hubs distinguish themselves by forming partnerships with emerging economies outside the Western world with a non-Western model that emphasizes local context and regional cooperation while maintaining global prestige and influence. Such strategies echo Indian Prime Minister Modi's pragmatic foreign policy, which prioritizes bilateral alliances that directly benefit India's growth over complex geopolitical engagements.

New Pressures to Connect the Local and Global

Universities find themselves navigating a complex landscape where they must balance local responsibilities all the while building global prestige and influence. For example:

• European universities maintain EU-level research collaborations while adhering to diverse national regulations.

• The National University of Singapore (NUS) manages local priorities while building partnerships with over 300 universities in more than 40 countries.

• Universidad EAFIT in Colombia collaborates with Purdue University as part of the 4U Alliance, balancing local educational needs with international partnerships.

This dual local-global role is reminiscent of how medieval institutions navigated competing authorities—be they city-states, empires, or religious leaders (and soon I’ll discuss how tech giants wield church-like power in the new global landscape).

New Strategies to Build Global Talent Pipelines

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)

• Building modern campuses in strategic locations

• Offering scholarships to attract international students

• Fostering research collaborations with local institutions

This approach not only expands China’s educational influence but also creates a network of institutions that can potentially reshape global knowledge production and dissemination.

New Educational Pluralism

New education hubs also signify a major shift towards educational pluralism, offering diverse cultural and pedagogical approaches. They challenge the traditional Western monopoly on higher education and contribute to richer, more varied academic governance structures and international partnerships. Consider, for example:

• China’s Double First-Class Initiative, focusing on STEM fields aligned with national priorities.

• India’s establishment of multidisciplinary education and research universities (MERUs) that integrate indigenous knowledge systems with modern curricula, as well as new AI Centers of Excellence.

• The UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO IESALC) aims to contribute to the improvement of higher education in member States.

• The African Centers of Excellence project, supported by The World Bank aims to promote regional specialization and address regional development challenges

This diversity creates opportunities for new learning and collaboration while challenging the Western-centric models of higher education. But it also raises a crucial question: How will academic freedom be protected and promoted in a landscape with such diverse governance structures and potentially conflicting values?

New “Techno-Universities” in the Global Market

Adding a final layer of complexity to this geopolitical shift is the rise of tech giants as formidable players in the education market. Companies like Google , Amazon, and OpenAI are emerging as new centers of educational influence, wielding a power reminiscent of the medieval church's role in knowledge dissemination and societal influence:

• Micro-degrees and certifications, such as “Grow with Google” have trained over 5 million Americans in digital skills.

• Eruditus, a higher education and workforce courseware platform, has raised $150M to grow in India and APAC and invest in AI technology.

• Microsoft has launched an AI National Skills Initiative for 100,000 government employees in the UAE.

• Campus.edu presents itself as “An Online College for the Future” with notable investors like Sam Altman (Founder of OpenAI), Jason Citron (Founder of Discord), Dylan Field (Founder of Figma), and Lachy Groom (Former head of Stripe Issuing).

Their entry marks a new form of competition in the global higher education market with an accessible - albeit corporatized - learning environment. It won’t be for everyone, but it doesn’t need to be for big tech to wield more influence.

Shifting Rationales, New Directions

Jane Knight and Hans (J.W.M.) de Wit have long emphasized the importance of understanding the rationales behind internationalization. We can observe how these motivations are being reinterpreted and reprioritized in the new Global Middle Ages.

Rationales for international collaboration are increasingly framed by national interests, knowledge security, and economic competitiveness.

The once-predominant focus on addressing global societal challenges has shifted to prioritize national security and economic interests, redefining what “responsibility” means in internationalization—a shift underscored by the European Commission's recent guidelines on research and innovation, which raise concerns about the balance between scientific openness and knowledge protection in an increasingly multipolar world.

The following table offers a comparative overview of shifting directions in the rationales driving internationalization:

As Hans de Wit recently cautioned, the increasing complexity and multifaceted nature of internationalization might lead to further erosion of its core academic values and sociocultural ideals–and further prioritization of economic and geopolitical rationales.

While the move from a Western-dominated system could spawn more diverse educational models responsive to local needs, it might also inadvertently reinforce new forms of hegemony or inequality, replacing current disparities with other equally pernicious power imbalances and divides.

All the while, rising national security concerns and geopolitical tensions threaten to undermine academic freedom, fragment collaboration, and shift internationalization toward protecting national interests rather than fostering global societal progress.

The Way Forward

While the shifting geopolitical dynamics we’re witnessing seem chaotic and challenging, they also offer unprecedented opportunities for reimagining internationalization.

As the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin wrote: “Wo aber Gefahr ist, wächst das Rettende auch,” translated as “But where danger is, grows the saving power also.”

The key will be to adapt strategically, embracing the complexity of this new landscape while preserving the core values of academic freedom and international cooperation.

Build Adaptive Networks for a Multipolar World

Chaos in this context is not synonymous with collapse but with reconfiguration.

In this new era, universities will need to be more adept at connecting global partnerships to local contributions, much like pre-Westphalian Middle Ages institutions navigated the complex interplay of local, regional, and universal authorities.

University leaders will need to:

• Diversify international partnerships for a world where knowledge and power flow through multiple, competing channels.

• Implement agile governance structures that allow for quick decision-making on international initiatives.

• Develop a "glocal" curriculum that integrates global perspectives with strong connections to local communities’ needs, values, and traditions.

The challenge—and the opportunity—lies in embracing this complexity and building new networks of education and exchange in this new multipolar world.

Look for Creative Possibilities within the Chaos

Internationalization in this new era has the potential for cross-pollination of ideas, methods, and cultures. Yet, this potential is overshadowed by rising national security concerns, as geopolitical tensions redefine responsible internationalization through the lens of political and economic competitiveness rather than social responsibility.

The moment marks a new beginning and a point of caution—an opportunity to build more resilient, diverse, and inclusive forms of internationalization, but also the start of a more chaotic era, marked by increased complexity in international relations, shifting alliances and partnerships, and conflicts.

While the path forward may be uncertain, there remain genuine opportunities for building a more inclusive and resilient internationalization.

What Do You Think?

Do you agree? What questions should we be thinking about as we navigate this new era of internationalization in higher education?