ABSTRACT
The title of this volume, The Globalization of Internationalization, marks or at least signals a certain shift in the conceptual discussion about internationalization of higher education (HE) that has been going on for close to 30 years. Various scholars and practitioners alike have elaborated and debated definitions of this process, tracked its evolution over time and studied its various approaches and dimensions. Common themes in many articles and books over the past three decades have explored whether or how internationalization of higher education differs in fundamental ways from globalization. Frequently the two terms have been used as if they were the same phenomenon and thus interchangeable. At the same time, the view that internationalization is the response of the HE sector to globalization is also not uncommon. Each of these contending views has its supporters, and each sheds new light on the analysis of the processes that are changing HE in important ways. For analytical purposes and for greater understanding and thus predictability of developments, knowing how similar or distinct the processes of globalization and internationalization are, and how they impact on HE, is crucial.
