As
I struggle with imagining what globalization might mean for higher education, I
have come to appreciate finding new sources that help me to increase my understanding
of political and business trends around the world. I was recently introduced to a very
interesting journal that has been very useful in helping me to look at some of
these issues from a distinctly non-US perspective. The journal is Global Asia, a publication of
the East Asia Foundation in Seoul, Korea.
In some ways, this is Foreign Affairs with an Asian perspective. Its goal is:
to provide a
compelling, serious, and responsible forum for distinguished thinkers,
policymakers, political leaders and business people to debate the most
important issues in Asia today
It
seeks to represent no fixed point of view or agenda, and so contains articles
representing a wide variety of primarily Asian viewpoints on a multitude of
issues. It is sometimes jarring but greatly
informative to see the ways various events are perceived in different countries
of Asia, and the often significant gap between those perceptions and the
dominant American perceptions.
The
most recent issue (Spring 2010) contains a number of very interesting articles, as well as a “Cover
Story” of eight articles on the theme: Security in East Asia: The Pieces of a
New Architecture. Authors from China,
Japan, Korea Singapore, and Russia provide viewpoints on this security issue
that are strongly shaped by events, politics, and histories of their own
countries. Two Americans add their thoughts on the role the US should be
playing in this important development.
The
Cover Story focuses on new security architectures that might provide increased
cooperation on economic and political issues that undergird regional security. As such, most concentrate on what might be
called “hard issues”. Interestingly,
only one of these eight articles even mentions a role for the “soft power” of higher
education in helping to provide long term security and stability for East Asia.
In this “outlier” article, Cho Hyun,
Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs at the South Korean Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Trade, points out the importance of soft power in
building security, particularly through the contribution to cooperation and
mutual understanding that can come through increasing interactions of the
peoples of the countries of the region. One
such interaction that he mentions occurs through higher education. Cho points
out that in 2008: more than 200,000
students chose to study in countries outside their own within Northeast Asia
rather than going to other countries (the US and Europe).
Of
course, it is not at all unusual for people struggling with difficult and
important questions of regional security to give short shrift to consideration
of softer aspects such as higher education. However, it is the case that one of
the goals implicit in the ongoing Bologna process has been to use higher
education to help forge a shared identity in the region that in turn will bring
increased security to a region that has known centuries of fierce internal conflict:
A Europe of Knowledge is now widely
recognised as an irreplaceable factor for social and human growth and as an
indispensable component to consolidate and enrich the European citizenship,
capable of giving its citizens the necessary competencies to face the
challenges of the new millennium, together with an awareness of shared values
and belonging to a common social and cultural space.
In
an earlier post (An Asian Bologna Process moves forward, Dec, 2008) I reported
that the member states of ASEAN had begun to consider a Bologna –like process
for higher education in that region for similar reasons. Indeed, the website
for the ASEAN Education Members Meeting contains an opening statement that
contains sentiments very close to those of the Bologna statement:
Education
underpins ASEAN community building. Education lies at the core of ASEAN’s
development process, creating a knowledge-based society and contributing to the
enhancement of ASEAN competitiveness. ASEAN also views education as the vehicle
to raise ASEAN awareness, inspire the “we feeling”, and create a sense of belonging
to the ASEAN Community and understanding of the richness of ASEAN’s history,
languages, culture and common values.
The communiqué of January 28, 2010 describing the 5th ASEAN
Education Ministers Meeting indicates that they, indeed, are beginning to move
along many paths similar to those being followed in Bologna, although details are sparse.
It
will be interesting to continue to follow the ASEAN process, and see if it becomes
successful enough that the next round of articles on regional security will see
it as a factor worthy of mention.
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Thanks for sharing this blog i think higher education is the main resource that changes the one part of our life.Anyway keep it up these interesting topics.
Posted by: Colleges in Dubai | October 22, 2011 at 04:53 AM
Education is one factor that changes someones life for the better. This irreplaceable and cannot be stolen. Trough education the capacity and capability of a person on some areas of its living wides. I was amazed by the article. The facts are merely true and transparent as well. Smart post
Posted by: International calls from mobile | February 03, 2011 at 06:53 AM