Does Political Orientation Make a Difference For Higher Education Policy? Party Positions on Higher Education Policy in Four European Countries

This paper will examine in how far the main political parties in four European countries differ in relation to their positions on higher education policy. Using a two-dimensional conceptual frame and based on election manifestos, coalition agreements and interviews with key actors, the paper will investigate whether the ideological differences between parties within a country lead to differing sets of higher education policy proposals. This paper aims to uncover the role of political parties as reasons for higher education policy changes by mapping the differing policy inputs that parties introduce into the political process. A qualitative content analysis will be used as the main research method. Based on the conceptual frame a coding sheet will be created, which will be used to analyze the relevant parts of the election manifestos and coalition agreements. Additionally to the documents, interviews with key actors (staffers and Members of Parliament) will be conducted.