‘It is more than just education. It’s also a peace policy’: (Re)imagining the mission of the European Higher Education Area in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

Following the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, scholarship has not yet addressed the role of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in this context. This paper asks: What is the political role of the EHEA as an institution and the instrumentalisation of its higher education (HE) cooperation initiatives in the context of the invasion? To investigate this, the paper thematically analyses interviews with representatives from key HE stakeholders in three EHEA members – Germany, France and Italy, as well as key recent international communications related to the EHEA’s response to the war. The thematic analysis revealed two overarching themes leading us to consider that: (1) the EHEA has been regaining its lost significance through shaping and disseminating its response as an institution to the invasion of Ukraine; and (2) HE cooperation in the EHEA in the context of this war has been acquiring a new meaning. These themes lead us to conclude that the war has prompted the EHEA to re-establish its purpose, following the ebbing interest in standardising HE structures. Most importantly, the EHEA has begun to emerge as a platform for political cooperation beyond HE for the promotion of peace in the European region.