Department of Sociology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, E. Van Evenstraat 2b, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
E-mail: Kurt.DeWit@soc.kuleuven.ac.be

Abstract

Higher education in Europe faces many challenges. This article focuses on the growth of the European Union and the subsequent pressure on the nation-states. It describes the higher education policy of the European Union, points to its complexity, and tries to gain insight into this complexity by viewing the EU as a whole of interrelated networks, that are asymmetrical in nature but are also, to a certain extent, characterized by stability. The role of the nation-state is defined as that of partner in the network instead of the major actor in higher education's environment. The article points to the consequences of this European construction for higher education in Europe and for higher education research.