The transnationalization of higher education: which role do new regionalisms play in the dissemination of these ideas? the case of MERCOSUR (1992-2012) in acompared perspectiveThe transnationalization of higher education: which role do new regionalisms pl

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to contribute to the understanding of the higher education reform in the 90s in Latin America, analyzing the impact of regional integration processes and more specifically in the MERCOSUR. To what extent did it help to disseminate and launch the ideas of transnationalization or internationalization that were being debated on a global level? To answer this question we will use a comparison of the MERCOSUR experience with other regionalisms, identifying the initiatives related to student mobility and course equivalences, two initiatives that cover the analyzed integration processes. The conclusion we reached suggests that the new regionalisms advanced to a third position: defense against globalization via solidary cooperation policies while trying to create a regional higher education platform to compete at a global level. However, in South America, advancements to date are restricted to the consolidation of national capacities, promoting unfinished reform processes in the less developed countries and consolidating strategic and predominant positions of the most developed ones in the region, without being able to establish a regional higher education platform.