ABSTRACT
By the time we complete the editing of this book, the world may be facing not only new forms of understanding multilateralism but even new ways of thinking about markets and the role of national states. The year 2008 will be remembered as a turning point where the idea of multilateralism was redefined. The current economic crisis has exposed the vulnerability of markets, financial systems, and states worldwide. Most international leaders have recognized the necessity of rethinking the many forms of international cooperation and acting more toward finding common solutions to face this crisis. In different ways this book is contributing to this dialogue on redefining ideas of international cooperation. The understanding of international organizations as monolithic, static organizations is obsolete; international organizations are complex, dynamic, and intrinsically polemic. The participation of national governments is an element that cannot be separated from the discussions of the activities developed by these organizations. A first general proposition of this book is that in order to discuss the impact of the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) activities in higher education, the voice of the insiders and the analysis of the experts on those organizations is needed. A second proposition is that the local impact these organizations have had in higher education has to be taken into account. A third proposition has to do with the needed emphasis on aid and its real dimensions. It is true that aid has to be analyzed proportionally in terms of the general higher education commitments made by national governments or regional/local agents; nevertheless, in some nations this aid may mean the possibility for performing some basic activities. Several journal volumes and articles have been written on the influence of these organizations on higher education policies; however, very few efforts have put together a number of pieces in discussing the role of these organizations within the very specific context of higher education. After the Education for All conference in 1990, most of the literature on international organizations was dedicated to analyze the situation at the basic education level. This new perspective is one of the principal contributions of this book. This book seeks to answer some principal questions related to higher education and the different ways international organizations are impacting national systems and their institutions. Some of these inquiries are: what and how are
the main activities developed by organizations like the World Bank, UNESCO, OECD, and the WTO, and why might the work of these agencies appear polemic and/or contradictory? How do the influences of these organizations differ from one region to another? In what ways have international organizations contributed to the development of the field of higher education and where? How relevant is multilateral aid vis-à-vis the financing provided by foundations or other bilateral organizations?
