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<p>This study presents a comparative analysis of two contrasting models of higher education regionalisation: the Bologna Process, which established the European Higher Education Area, and China’s aspiration for building an emerging educational community through its Belt and Road Initiative. This comparison focuses on their divergent governance architectures, policy instruments, development pathways, and geopolitical underpinnings. The Bologna Process exemplifies a&#xa0;supranational governance model<i>,</i> which relies on multilateral soft coordination, standardised policy tools, institutionalisation mechanisms, and a shared vision of European harmonisation, legitimated by a crisis narrative while being endorsed as part of the wider European integration project. In contrast, the Belt and Road represents a&#xa0;state-led and development-driven model of regional collaboration, where education serves as a strategic ‘soft infrastructure’. Its educational community is advanced primarily through bilateral agreements and project-based networks, involving numerous state and non-state actors and stakeholders to forge a multi-level knowledge space that meets signatories’ diverse needs. Reflecting on the established European paradigm as a universal template and the ongoing China-led education community-building, this study portrays the evolving landscape of and pluralistic approaches to higher education regionalisation, offering insights for policymakers and scholars navigating this increasingly complex field of regionalisation, policy and governance in non-Western/Global South contexts.</p>

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From Bologna to Belt and Road: Comparing Models of Higher Education Regionalisation

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月20日

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  • Bowen Xu

摘要

This study presents a comparative analysis of two contrasting models of higher education regionalisation: the Bologna Process, which established the European Higher Education Area, and China’s aspiration for building an emerging educational community through its Belt and Road Initiative. This comparison focuses on their divergent governance architectures, policy instruments, development pathways, and geopolitical underpinnings. The Bologna Process exemplifies a supranational governance model, which relies on multilateral soft coordination, standardised policy tools, institutionalisation mechanisms, and a shared vision of European harmonisation, legitimated by a crisis narrative while being endorsed as part of the wider European integration project. In contrast, the Belt and Road represents a state-led and development-driven model of regional collaboration, where education serves as a strategic ‘soft infrastructure’. Its educational community is advanced primarily through bilateral agreements and project-based networks, involving numerous state and non-state actors and stakeholders to forge a multi-level knowledge space that meets signatories’ diverse needs. Reflecting on the established European paradigm as a universal template and the ongoing China-led education community-building, this study portrays the evolving landscape of and pluralistic approaches to higher education regionalisation, offering insights for policymakers and scholars navigating this increasingly complex field of regionalisation, policy and governance in non-Western/Global South contexts.