China is a key player in global science. Collaboration between Chinese and Western universities is critical for enhancing global networks of research and innovation. However, the potential for cooperative outcomes is currently limited by obstacles to collaboration. At the core of these challenges is the continued misunderstanding of ideology and governance between Chinese and Western higher education. Contributing to increased sub-regional understanding of higher education systems, this research provides an important Sino-Nordic comparative understanding of institutional autonomy, academic freedom, professional academic identity and organizational change. Through an empirical case-study and document analysis of macro-social ideopolitical steering logics, institutional logics, and organizational-level complexity, this research finds that within both China and the Nordics, incongruent macrosocial ideo-political steering logics deprofessionalize/politicize the academic profession through a state-driven procedural strengthening, yet substantive narrowing/weakening of institutional autonomy/academic freedom. The implications of this research should be understood within a contemporary context of limited trust and cooperation between China and the Nordics. Through a bridging view of convergent/divergent ideopolitical steering logics within respective systemic higher education contexts, and their effects on professional academic identity and agentic change, increased understanding of respective HE systems may provide avenue for increased sub-regional academic/scientific engagement and cooperation.
