Comparing Regionalisms within Europe: Balkans, Baltics, Benelux and Nordics in the Context of Multi-level Governance

The regional (beyond nation state) level is of particular interest in the European multi-level governance context; it can act as a platform for common translation of European “pressures” to fit the specificities in the region, leading to convergence within the region but divergence from other parts of Europe. However, it can also have no specific consequence on the extent of policy convergence within the region, i.e. convergence would primarily be towards European models and the region would largely be bypassed. In an attempt to explore more systematically the importance of such regions for higher education policy coordination, the present study analyses Balkans, Baltics, Benelux and the Nordics. Using the Guttman scale of political coordination, the study focuses on approaches to and the outcomes of policy coordination within these four regions, in relation to the overarching policy coordination in the Europe of Knowledge.