Tertiary Education is considered to be a key driver in the development of economies and societies, and therefore is progressively gaining importance in the aid and cooperation policies of international organisations such as the European Commission, the OECD, UNESCO and the World Bank. This paper analyses the importance of European higher education as a mechanism for projecting soft power within the context of globalisation, political upheavals, and economic recession. First, it situates the concept of soft power within the context of higher education policy-making. Then, it explores why the creation of the EHEA is likely to be considered a model for educational reforms in other regions of the world, the importance of international cooperation in this field to foster global influence, and how the EU uses higher education to project soft power in its neighbourhood. It also examines the different ways in which the Bologna Process influences reforms beyond Europe, and the mechanisms and policy vehicles applied by the EU to promote soft convergence of higher education agendas. This paper focuses on the EU's Tempus Programme and its implementation in two countries: Egypt and Russia. Each of these countries presents a different reality and reflects a unique case with regard to its relations with the EU.
The relation existing between the investment in policy dialogue and cooperation in the area of higher education and other agendas is reasonably evident, and is magnified by the conciliating essence of education. However, despite the importance of higher education in determining the balance of power at both regional and global levels, so far the nature of the different institutional actors, policy vehicles, processes and outcomes have not been sufficiently explored in the scholarly literature. Beyond the analysis of specific cases, this paper is expected to contribute to more theoretical debates on this innovative perspective.
