Rising Nationalisms and Euroscepticism in European Higher Education: Poland and the UK in Perspective

• In Event: Geo-political Shifts, Freedom and Disaster: the University in a new Spatio-temporal Era

Proposal

In the last decade, rising nationalism has amplified Eurosceptic opposition challenging the values of integration at the root of the European integration project. Political discourse and movements in several European countries have contributed to a crisis moment for the EU (Bevelander and Wodak 2020, Delanty 2021), most evident by the UK’s decision to leave the Union in 2016. Across Europe, nationalist movements and parties have become increasingly prevalent, as they present themselves as protectors of national interest in the face of reduced sovereignty, internationalism and socio-economic pressures brought on by globalization (Wodak & Rheindorf 2022).

Against this backdrop, this study explores how the rise of nationalism and the euroscepticism underpinning it, are affecting higher education policy in the UK and Poland. Two central questions guide the research: a) How are nationalist ideals and discourses influencing the higher education policy trajectories in the UK and Poland? b) How are universities and the higher education sector responding? The study relies on a Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough 2013) of policy documents and political discussions (speeches, parliamentary debates, ministerial statements) produced between 1999 and 2023.

In the UK, Brexit has had an undeniable impact on the country’s higher education sector, hampering its ability to collaborate and exchange with European countries, institutions and importantly, students. The decision to leave the flagship Erasmus program in 2019 meant the loss of European students, prompting a significant decline of income for British universities. As the UK government announced its departure from Erasmus at the end of 2020, it swiftly introduced its “alternative,” the Turing Scheme, aimed at opening the UK up to a broader list of countries, “well beyond Europe’s frontiers” (Department for Education 2021), contributing to its broader “Global Britain” strategy.

In Poland, Eurosceptic ideals have manifested in the promotion of a different vision of Europe, rather than a move away from the continent. This vision sees Poland gain influence in the Eastern European space, notably through its leadership in higher education and research. Under the government of the Law and Justice party, the Ministry of Education and Science politically and financially promoted radical right Catholic and ultra-conservative institutions of higher education to position Poland as the center for a future so-called “Intermarium” region in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) between the Baltic and Black seas.

Through a context-sensitive analysis of the impact of nationalist discourse and policy orientations on the higher education domain in the UK and Poland, the study reveals the different modalities by which higher education institutions are affected by changing political dynamics and ideals. Highlighting the role of anti-EU sentiments as a manifestation of the rising nationalist movements, the study elucidates how ideals of protectionism, sovereignty and enhanced global status permeate the higher education policy domain. By addressing the responses of universities and the higher education sectors in the UK and Poland, our study also aims to inform understanding on the state-university relationship in the contemporary moment.

Authors

• hannah moscovitz, Aarhus University, DPU

• Rasmus Rasmussen Harsbo, Aarhus University