This paper draws upon New Regionalism Theory (NRT) to explore the governance dynamics behind political processes that position ‘Europe’ as a global actor in higher education. I take the involvement of the Council of Europe (CoE) in the Bologna Process as being an exemplary case of tensions deriving from these dynamics. Since 1999, the Bologna Process has stood for a project – the constitution of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) – that prioritises the idea of making ‘Europe’ a globally competitive higher education provider. This undermines views of the role of higher education in the construction of a cohesive pan-European region. These views have historically been advanced within the governance framework of the CoE without concerns about competitiveness. I argue that the assumption in NRT that regional actorness depends upon a cross-border ideational homogenisation and active cross-institutional co-ordination empirically applies to how the CoE contributes to advancing the EHEA.
