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EGIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION CO-OPERATION: A RESEARCH PROPOSAL TO COMPARE THE BALTIC SEA AND THE BLACK SEA REGIONS

 

Stefan Ewert

Greifswald University/Germany, E-Mail: Stefan.ewert@uni-greifswald.de

 

 

Acknowledgments

This paper has been presented at the Second International Conference on Nordic and Baltic Studies: Black Sea and Baltic Sea Regions: Confluences, influences and crosscurrents in the modern and contemporary ages hosted by the Romanian Association for Baltic and Nordic Studies, Târgoviste, May 20-22, 2011.

I would like to thank the organizers of the Second International Conference on Nordic and Baltic Studies for their kind invitation, the discussants of our panel for their helpful comments as well as the anonymous reviewers of this journal for their constructive suggestions.

 

 

Abstract:

While the Baltic Sea Region is considered to be a pioneer region in the development of regional integration and identity, the Black Sea Region is regarded to be a laggard in terms of regionali­zation and region building. My paper summarizes the role of regional higher education co-operation in the Baltic Sea regionalization process in theory and analyzes the empirical background of these assumptions. Yet, inasmuch an evaluation of the regions` status as a pioneer is possible only in a comparative perspective, I propose to compare the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea Region regarding their higher education networks systematically. My paper asks for the transferability of arguments in favor of a strong regional higher education co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region since the 1990s to today’s situation of the Black Sea Region. It concludes with some fundamental considerations on a comparative research project.

 

Rezumat:

În timp ce regiunea Marii Baltice este considerata a fi o pioniera în dezvoltarea integrarii si a identitatii regionale, regiunea Marii Negre este considerata a fi codasa în ceea ce priveste regionalizarea si consolidarea regionala. Lucrarea mea rezuma rolul cooperarii regionale în învatamântul superior în procesul de regionalizare a Marii Baltice în teorie si analizeaza fundalul empiric al acestor asumptii. Cu toate acestea, întrucât o evaluare a statutului regiunii ca pioniera este posibila numai dintr-o perspectiva comparativa, îmi propun sa compar regiunea Marii Negre si regiunea Marii Baltice privind sistematic retelele lor de învatamânt superior. Lucrarea mea îsi pune întrebari cu privire la transferul de argumente în favoarea unei cooperari regionale puternice în învatamântul superior în regiunea Marii Baltice din anii 1990 pâna la situatia actuala din regiunea Marii Negre. Ea se încheie cu câteva consideratii fundamentale asupra unui proiect de cercetare comparativa.

 

Keywords: regionalization; region building; regional higher education co-operation; academic networks; interregional comparison

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04. Ewert.pdf