Shifting geopolitics of the European higher education space

Given recent major geopolitical events in the European region, such as Brexit and the launch of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this article explores recent and under-researched shifts in the geopolitics of the European higher education space, focusing specifically on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The analysis is informed by the critical geopolitics approach and relies on interviews with stakeholders in the four countries that established the EHEA (Germany, France, Italy and the UK), key recent EHEA official communications, and a thematic analysis of these datasets. The analysis has revealed three major recent overlapping shifts in EHEA geopolitics: regarding its borders, identity and values. These findings are significant, highlighting the existence and dynamics of the phenomenon of higher education geopolitics in Europe and addressing an under-researched area in the literature on European geopolitics and the role of higher education in it.