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The effects of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine on Internationalization in the post-Soviet region and Beyond (JCIHE Special Issue)

Sun, March 23, 2:45 to 4:00pm, Palmer House, Floor: 7th Floor, Dearborn 3

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Two years have passed since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The invasion has started a new era in the development of international relations and in the transformation of newly independent states formed as a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Millions of people have been affected in Ukraine and Russia itself. Thousands of civilians and soldiers have died on both sides of the conflict and over a million have had to leave their home countries or have been internally displaced. The military conflict has transformed the production and supply channels throughout the larger Europe-Asia region and larger regional and global economic effects are yet to be seen.

At the background of these more visible changes, the invasion has produced ripple effects on the ethnic and national identities of the former Soviet peoples, the corresponding country’s ideologies, and, inevitably, on education and ways of thinking about its purposes, content, methods, and approaches to organization. There are emerging discussions of decoloniality and reconceptualization of the Soviet past, of the fate of the Russian language, and the future relations with the West on the one hand, and China and its neighbourhood, on the other; as well as related considerations of alternative pathways, inspirations, and models of educational reform.

The idea of this special issue was promoted by the predictable changes in the process of internationalization of higher education and in the patterns of international mobility, which must have occurred as a result of the conflict. Internationalization has been one of the main mechanisms of educational transformation in the post-Soviet area since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Over thirty years of their independence, many republics of the former Soviet Union have relied on models and ideas from abroad in search for existing solutions of emerging educational issues, have been increasingly comparing their performance on education-related indicators with their counterparts in other regions of the world joining a variety of international competitiveness indices and rankings, have sent future intellectual cadre for training abroad, have engaged in partnerships with institutions in Asia and the West trying to supplement lacking resources, expertise and access to facilities, and have brought international experts from around the world to assist with introduction of teaching innovations and research capacity building. Some countries, such as Kazakhstan, have invested in the creation of international universities and regional education hubs. The key question of the special issue is how the Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected the processes in the region and beyond.

The team of contributors to the special issue have explored the changes in the process of internationalization and in the patterns of international mobility, which are taking place far beyond the borders of the two countries involved in the conflict. The special issue provides a comprehensive investigation of the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on higher education and the patterns of internationalization in the post-Soviet region and globally. This understanding might offer important insights into the understanding of future trends and potential issues, which should be taken into consideration by scholars of educational reform and internationalization in the region, as well as by higher education policymakers in the post-Soviet countries. The papers in the issue provide a useful example of how the effects of war on education can be understood methodologically as they utilize a variety of approaches ranging from content analysis of policy literature and official media to the analysis of social media communities and more conventional interviews and focus groups. They also offer some potential theoretical frameworks that can be used in the design of the studies and interpretation of the results. At the same time, the special issue provides only a snapshot of the developing situation limited by the data from individual countries and having failed to provide an analysis of the situation in the Caucasus, Belarus, some of the countries of Central Asia, and, importantly, Russia.

The scholarly importance of the special issue goes beyond the region and the specific conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This special issue is one of the few attempts of an in-depth exploration of the effects of war on internationalization and international mobility in higher education. Unfortunately, with the increasing geopolitical polarization, this issue might set an example for similar explorations of conflicts emerging in other regions of the world. While the effects of conflicts on education and internationalization in education are important to understand, it would be better if the need never emerged. The hope is that the special issue will bring humanity to greater recognition of the negative consequences of military conflicts and will help to uncover the transformative and peace-building potential of internationalization and international mobility of higher education.

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