ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore how multilateral organisations 2 have contributed to the shaping of a global market of higher education. Organisations such as the World Trade Organisation’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), each represent different approaches to higher education. Each of these international organisations has translated its approach into its organisational structures and practices. Multilateral initiatives in some cases promote a market in higher education. In other cases, initiatives can be seen as reactions to this growing global market, which seek to challenge a narrow instrumental approach to higher education. Several initiatives represent attempts to limit the global market by establishing quality requirements, thus attempting to restrict liberalisation.
