ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the ways in which countries in Southeast Asia are working toward the realization of these ambitious goals. It suggests that many of their policies and programs draw heavily on certain globally circulating discourses about the nature of the global knowledge economy and how systems of higher education should engage with it. In developing their systems of higher education, the chapter points to some of the ways in which countries of Southeast Asian have sought to collaborate at the regional level, and looks at the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) to develop instruments of reform, and 'harmonize' their policies across the region. It is argued that while various national and regional initiatives have been successful in increasing the ratio of students attending higher education institutions (HEIs), their contribution to forging and sustaining robust systems of higher education that are responsive to the shifting requirement of the global economy has been limited.
