The Global Governance of Knowledge Policies: Europe of Knowledge in Context

Knowledge policies are at the forefront of contemporary global politics. Indeed, knowledge is to be the foundation on which societies coalesce and economies thrive; the competition for knowledge drives the global race for talent. The fourth Europe of Knowledge section invites contributions to go beyond Europe and consider these overarching questions: What key themes should we address when we talk about the global governance of knowledge policies? How and why are these themes crucial for our understanding of public policymaking in knowledge domains? Specifically, we are interested in theoretical, empirical and comparative contributions that investigate the role of the ‘four I’s’ – ideas, interests, instruments and institutions – in the global and multi-level governance of knowledge policies. By ‘role’, we refer to the effects that ideas, actors (individual, organisational), policy instruments and institutions have had on the governance of knowledge policies, and vice-versa. Our focus on ‘roles’ is to enable a multidisciplinary discussion on whether these factors share defining characteristics across different knowledge policy domains (i.e. research, higher education, and science), and between distinct governance levels and geographical regions. This section continues to welcome all scholars, theoretical and methodological approaches to critically discuss the reconfiguration of knowledge systems – in Europe and around the world. Biographies: Meng-Hsuan Chou is Nanyang Assistant Professor in public policy and global affairs at NTU, Singapore and the academic coordinator of UACES’s European Research Area CRN. Mitchell Young is researching European Higher Education and Research Areas, public management, research evaluation and funding policies as a doctoral candidate at Charles University, Prague. Together, they have chaired the 2011, 2013 and 2014 ECPR Europe of Knowledge sections, totalling 17 panels.