Responding to Higher Education Interference: a Comparative Case Study

Research security provides an ideal prism through which to explore the changing relationship between the university and the state. As the world order becomes ever more geopolitical, higher education dynamics have changed to reflect the increased importance of knowledge, both as a driver of competitiveness and a strategic resource in need of securitization. We examine two distinct models of research security policymaking through a multi-level study of the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Comparing these different national approaches provides insight into both how the state-university dynamics shape research security policy development and implementation, and inversely, how research security is affecting the state-university dynamics.