ABSTRACT
The rise of international ranking and increasing concerns for national competitiveness have had enormous ramifications for higher education globally. This is also the case in Thailand. Interviews with policy elites, administrators at the university level, and academics elucidate the worries of increasing global competition in higher education ranking. This chapter focuses on the importance of international ranking in higher education policymaking and how Thailand’s standing in comparison to other countries has influenced the research landscape in the country. Not only are international league tables equivalent to globalization in higher education, but they also act as “external factors” in order to steer national and institutional changes (Steiner-Khamsi, 2004).
