tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/internationalism-26767/articlesInternationalism – The Conversation2023-01-10T17:15:46Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1972032023-01-10T17:15:46Z2023-01-10T17:15:46ZRichard Price: how one of the 18th century’s most influential thinkers was forgotten<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503384/original/file-20230106-23-db9yxn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C2%2C1914%2C1069&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Richard Price reading a letter dated 1784 from his friend, Benjamin Franklin.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benjamin West, National Library of Wales & Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to the eulogies and <a href="https://archive.org/details/sim_gentlemans-magazine_1791-04_61_4/page/388/mode/2up?q=price">obituaries</a> written at the time of his death in 1791, <a href="https://richardpricesociety.org.uk/">Richard Price’s</a> name would be remembered alongside figures such as Benjamin Franklin, John Locke, George Washington and Thomas Paine. </p>
<p>Three hundred years on from his birth in the village of Llangeinor, near Bridgend in south Wales, why has he therefore been lost from our popular memory? </p>
<p>After all, here was a polymath whose lasting contributions ranged across a number of disciplines, including moral philosophy, <a href="https://rss.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-9713.2013.00638.x">mathematics</a> and theology. Moreover, Price’s contribution as a public intellectual made a huge impact, not least in international politics. </p>
<p>A useful starting point are the parallels with his friend <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/oct/05/original-suffragette-mary-wollstonecraft?CMP=share_btn_link">Mary Wollstonecraft</a>. She was a philosopher, a women’s rights advocate and the mother of <a href="https://www.bl.uk/people/mary-shelley">Mary Shelley</a>. </p>
<p>Wollstonecraft was both inspired by Price and indebted to him. Indeed, her most influential texts are directly linked to Price and the pamphlet war known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_Controversy">Revolution controversy</a>. </p>
<p>In these texts, influential thinkers discussed the political issues arising from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution">French Revolution</a>. It has subsequently been recognised as a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26213839">formative debate in terms of modern political ideas. </a></p>
<p>It was Price who sparked the controversy with a sermon in 1789 entitled <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Discourse_on_the_Love_of_Our_Country/92QNAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover">A Discourse on the Love of Our Country</a>, in which he supported the opening events of the revolution in France. </p>
<p>He declared it to be a continuation of the spreading of enlightened values and ideas introduced by the <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/">Glorious Revolution of 1688</a> in England. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XHjtIO0ZFs4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Richard Price’s sermon to the Revolution Society in 1789.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This provoked a response from the philosopher and Anglo-Irish Whig MP <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edmund-Burke-British-philosopher-and-statesman">Edmund Burke</a>, with his famous text, <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/reflections-on-the-revolution-in-france-by-edmund-burke">Reflections on the Revolution in France</a>. </p>
<p>This is regarded as a formative text of modern conservative thought. It defended the importance of the traditional institutions of state and society while warning of the excesses of revolution. </p>
<p>In response, Wollstonecraft published <a href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/wollstonecraft-a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-men">A Vindication of the Rights of Men</a> in 1790. It was both a critique of Burke and a defence of Price, who died a year later. </p>
<p>Then in 1792, she wrote her profoundly influential <a href="https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/mary-wollstonecraft-a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-woman">A Vindication of the Rights of Woman</a>, explicitly extending dissenting ideals to women, with a searing social critique. </p>
<p>Both Price and Wollstonecraft would subsequently be written out of history. </p>
<p>Price’s biographer, <a href="https://www.uwp.co.uk/author/Paul-Frame-663/">Paul Frame</a>, suggests this can be partly accounted for by events in France and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Reign-of-Terror">violent turn to terror during the French Revolution</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/libertys-apostle-richard-price-his-life-and-times/">Frame suggests</a> Burke was “the man who had accurately predicted the direction of the Revolution”. This “undermined the more optimistic faith in rationalism and natural rights” of Price and others. </p>
<p>They both also suffered in terms of their personal reputation. Price became a caricature of the picture painted by Burke, captured in the cartoons of the day. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Satirical cartoon of Richard Price at his writing desk overlooked by a large nose and eyes surrounded by haze representing Edmund Burke, carrying a crown, a cross and a copy of his pamphlet." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503100/original/file-20230104-70338-pvtb8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503100/original/file-20230104-70338-pvtb8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503100/original/file-20230104-70338-pvtb8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503100/original/file-20230104-70338-pvtb8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503100/original/file-20230104-70338-pvtb8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503100/original/file-20230104-70338-pvtb8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503100/original/file-20230104-70338-pvtb8n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A caricature of Richard Price with a vision of Edmund Burke looking over his shoulder, by James Gillray.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Library of Congress</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Wollstonecraft was posthumously <a href="https://lithub.com/how-a-husbands-loving-biography-ruined-his-wifes-reputation/">undone by the candid biography of her widower</a>, its contents deployed maliciously by those who sought to undermine her. Thankfully, <a href="https://theconversation.com/mary-wollstonecraft-statue-a-provocative-tribute-for-a-radical-woman-149888">her works and good name were recovered by the feminist movement</a>. </p>
<p>As Frame suggests however, there were deeper, structural factors at play. </p>
<p>Price was the embodiment of a reformism the British establishment had a material interest in thwarting. He represented a dissenting community whose <a href="https://welshchapels.wales/nonconformity/">nonconformist Christian denominations</a> were in opposition to the established church and discriminated against. </p>
<p>Price spoke out against the crown, slavery and chauvinistic nationalism. He advocated equality, democratic principles and civic nationalism. </p>
<p>The hostility towards the progressive forces he embodied was symbolised by the <a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100452318;jsessionid=7677A3EB1D19321A218678801F2EDCD1">Seditious Meetings Act</a> introduced in 1795 to stifle the reform movement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration from 1790 showing three men speaking from a church pulpit to a group of others reading and tearing up documents." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503390/original/file-20230106-6729-mq16ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503390/original/file-20230106-6729-mq16ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503390/original/file-20230106-6729-mq16ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503390/original/file-20230106-6729-mq16ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=841&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503390/original/file-20230106-6729-mq16ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503390/original/file-20230106-6729-mq16ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503390/original/file-20230106-6729-mq16ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Richard Price, Joseph Priestley and Theophilus Lindsay in a 1790 engraving satirising the campaign to have the Test Act repealed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Sayers</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There would have been very real consequences had it been Price and his ilk – and not Burke – who were lionised as the spirit of Britain (a state less than a century old at the time). Arguably, we still live with the ramifications today. </p>
<p>Price’s politics eventually had their day as the social tumult of the 19th century meant the tide of reform could not be stemmed. </p>
<p>Burke’s conservatism, however, conceivably still symbolises where the balance of power sits in terms of the UK’s political culture. The Tory party is often <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA271975015&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=15555623&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E26847d25">still regarded as the natural party of power</a>, and deference towards the ruling classes remains. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A memorial stone dedicated to Richard Price in Newington Green Unitarian Church" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503386/original/file-20230106-24-s9fgwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503386/original/file-20230106-24-s9fgwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503386/original/file-20230106-24-s9fgwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503386/original/file-20230106-24-s9fgwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503386/original/file-20230106-24-s9fgwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503386/original/file-20230106-24-s9fgwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503386/original/file-20230106-24-s9fgwp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Memorial to Richard Price in Newington Green Unitarian Church in North London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Cardy</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given the collective amnesia towards him within Britain, it is perhaps apt that celebrations of Price’s life and works should begin this month with a talk at <a href="https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/electrifying-thinkers">the American Philosophical Association</a> in Philadelphia. </p>
<p>There will, however, be <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089200358334">a programme of events at home</a> to reflect on his contribution and contemporary relevance. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1599865290761785344"}"></div></p>
<p>This will include a birthday celebration in Llangeinor, an academic conference, and <a href="https://contemporancient.org/">a play</a>. </p>
<p>If he has not been celebrated by a British culture, for which he had such high hopes, then it is high time it happened in Wales, at the very least.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197203/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Huw L Williams works for Cardiff University who are a lead partner in the 'Price 300' project celebrating Richard Price's tercentenary in 2023. His work as a philosopher is part-funded by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, a government-funded body responsible for promoting academic activity and teaching through the medium of Welsh. He is the President of the Adran Athroniaeth Cymdeithas Cynfyfyrwyr Prifysgol Cymru that promotes philosophy through the medium of Welsh and Welsh-language philosophy.</span></em></p>He was an important philosopher, mathematician and social reformer of his time. But Richard Price was subsequently written out of history.Huw L Williams, Reader in Political Philosophy, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1515342020-12-11T05:42:18Z2020-12-11T05:42:18ZBiden’s chance to revive US tradition of inserting ethics in foreign policy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374266/original/file-20201210-18-1mfkggs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4486%2C2991&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Biden's is entrusting Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken to set U.S. foreign policy on a different course.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/secretary-of-state-nominee-antony-blinken-speaks-after-news-photo/1229769415?adppopup=true">Mark Makela/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Donald Trump’s foreign policy has, in the judgment of many analysts, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/760b6144-a740-11ea-92e2-cbd9b7e28ee6">damaged U.S. moral standing</a> around the world. During four years of “America First,” the Trump administration has gotten cozy with governments that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2020.1809362">disdain human rights norms and laws</a>, <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-muslim-travel-ban-immigration-6ce8554f-05bd-467b-b3c2-ea4876f7773a.html">restricted immigration on the basis of religion</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0047117820965656">withdrawn from treaties</a> aimed to bolster international well-being.</p>
<p>Joe Biden has <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/17/trump-biden-battle-for-blue-collar-voters-will-revive-trade-debate-192270">promised to set a different course</a>, to “reclaim” America’s “position as the moral and economic leader of the world.” Doing so might be vital as the U.S. competes for international influence against rival powers China and Russia.</p>
<p>What strikes me, <a href="https://www.bu.edu/polisci/people/faculty/mayers/">a scholar of history and foreign policy</a>, is that this Biden orientation aligns with one of the vivid strands in U.S. tradition: to apply American versions of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the conception and implementation of foreign policy. This <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-world-needs-american-idealism-again-11605882637">American “idealism”</a> has not only fortified U.S. security, but has also helped smooth the jagged edges of international politics. </p>
<h2>Society of nations</h2>
<p>Washington has periodically tried over the decades to improve the quality and tone of the “international society” – defined by <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bull-hedley-norman-175">scholar Hedley Bull</a> as the common set of rules, both informal and codified, <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-349-24028-9">by which states are bound</a>.</p>
<p>Less coherent or robust than domestic structures of laws and norms, “international society” has been, and remains, a fragile and somewhat amorphous concept. Yet, as theorized by scholars like Bull, “international society” has always had a tangible aspect. It draws states into occasional cooperation, mediated by treaties, laws, diplomatic traditions, customs and transnational institutions. </p>
<p>In contrast, the current administration has used foreign policy as a tool for a narrowly defined transactional national interest, in accordance with Trump’s “America First” agenda.</p>
<p>But a more elevated approach appears throughout U.S. history.</p>
<p>Francis Lieber numbered among the <a href="http://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780199599752.003.0058">earlier proponents of practices</a> to mitigate wartime suffering. A German-American political-legal thinker, Lieber advanced ideas in the 1860s regarding the humane treatment of enemy prisoners and wounded soldiers.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374250/original/file-20201210-15-18srhum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374250/original/file-20201210-15-18srhum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374250/original/file-20201210-15-18srhum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374250/original/file-20201210-15-18srhum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=661&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374250/original/file-20201210-15-18srhum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374250/original/file-20201210-15-18srhum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374250/original/file-20201210-15-18srhum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=831&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Blowing bubbles – a cartoonist’s verdict on Woodrow Wilson’s attempt at international cooperation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/blowing-bubbles-woodrow-wilson-and-the-league-of-nations-news-photo/1175739672?adppopup=true">Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the 20th century, attempts to bring ethics into foreign policy were made by successive U.S. presidents. President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/league">promoted the League of Nations</a>, which he conceived as an institutional guarantor of world order and peace. And American diplomats played a prominent role in the 1928 outlawing of war through the <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/kellogg">quixotic Kellogg-Briand Pact</a>.</p>
<p>President Franklin Roosevelt in January 1941 asserted that people everywhere were entitled to four fundamental freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. He later proved an <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230609389">insistent and effective advocate for creating the United Nations</a>.</p>
<p>This desire to improve the tone and quality of “international society” persisted into the post-World War II era. <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/nuremberg-judges/">American jurists were involved</a> in the Nuremberg inquests into Nazi atrocities. The trials were in large part convened to salvage and reassert the meaningfulness of civilized standards of conduct in world affairs.</p>
<p>Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt played a leading role in the formulation of the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/">1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>. And <a href="https://news.un.org/en/tags/raphael-lemkin">Raphael Lemkin</a>, a Polish-born Jewish lawyer who found permanent refuge in the United States, became the main architect of the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/genocide-convention.shtml">1948 Genocide Convention</a>.</p>
<h2>Kissinger to Carter</h2>
<p>In recent decades, the most lucid expression by a president on ethics and foreign policy came from Jimmy Carter. To help expunge the stain of the Vietnam War and counter the influence of <a href="https://www.henryakissinger.com/">former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s</a> stark <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2016/03/16/book-review-realpolitik-a-history-by-john-bew/">realpolitik</a>, Carter <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2004.00400.x">promoted human rights as a U.S. foreign policy goal</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (left) and President Jimmy Carter talk in the White House's Oval Office, Washington DC, August 15, 1977" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374247/original/file-20201210-20-qa4iqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374247/original/file-20201210-20-qa4iqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374247/original/file-20201210-20-qa4iqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374247/original/file-20201210-20-qa4iqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374247/original/file-20201210-20-qa4iqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374247/original/file-20201210-20-qa4iqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374247/original/file-20201210-20-qa4iqh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two very different approaches to foreign policy: Kissinger and Carter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-us-secretary-of-state-henry-kissinger-and-president-news-photo/1287669399?adppopup=true">Benjamin E. 'Gene' Forte/CNP/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to Carter, and echoing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7709.2004.00400.x">human rights included both political and material rights</a>. On the political side, this meant the right to be free from abuse and torture, arbitrary arrest, random imprisonment or denial of a fair public trial. In the Carter definition, human rights also encompassed religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of press and access to education. On the material side, human rights entailed fulfillment of basics, notably food, shelter, decent employment and health care.</p>
<p>To Carter, U.S. policy needed to be “rooted in our moral values” and “<a href="https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/carter">designed to serve mankind</a>.” In practical terms this meant an end to ignoring human rights transgressions by allies, as in the case of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09592290903577775">South Africa’s apartheid regime</a>, and terminating U.S. military support of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/02/09/us-retaliates-against-somoza-cuts-back-aidus-cuts-back-aid-to-nicaragua/0dedf7f9-6dbc-401c-9101-e5c4479d19e1/">Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza</a>.</p>
<p>Albeit <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137598738_1">ridiculed by “realist” skeptics at the time</a> and later for amounting to empty piety, or dismissed by others as merely cloaking the structures of power, these proclamations and actions – from Lieber to Carter – nonetheless <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3791726">helped create the modern international order</a>. Collectively, they constitute the intermittent triumph of hopefulness against despair and infamy. </p>
<h2>Retreat from the world</h2>
<p>The disorientation and anxiety caused by the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks led to a U.S. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316493939">retreat from building a world order</a> that, however partial and imperfectly realized, had stimulated the moral imagination of many Americans. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/iraq-and-afghanistan-the-us-6-trillion-bill-for-americas-longest-war-is-unpaid-78241">wars in Iraq and Afghanistan</a> – and by extension, drone attacks in Pakistan – inflicted devastation and disruption incompatible with America’s alleged mission, namely promoting the welfare of people in those afflicted countries and safeguarding U.S. safety. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/05/10/torture-at-abu-ghraib">horrors of Abu Ghraib</a> and the <a href="https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/28112">rendition of prisoners to secret sites</a> where they endured water boarding and other torture caused the United States to forfeit much of the good will it had accumulated over decades.</p>
<p>This diminished U.S. stature was compounded under Trump by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/us/migrant-children-separated.html">spectacle of children being separated from parents</a> along the Southern border and by moves to disengage from the international community – such as <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31527-0/fulltext">withdrawing from the World Health Organization</a> and the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-exits-paris-climate-accord-after-trump-stalls-global-warming-action-for-four-years/">Paris climate agreement</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Biden’s administration faces the daunting task of rehabilitating U.S. standing. In the ongoing competitions for influence and power between America, China and Russia, the retrieval of U.S. ethical traditions may prove vital.</p>
<p>Incoming <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/22/us/politics/biden-antony-blinken-secretary-of-state.html">Secretary of State Antony Blinken</a>, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/27/jake-sullivan-biden-national-security-440814">National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan</a> and <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/529402-gumbo-diplomacy-and-the-rise-of-linda-thomas-greenfield">Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield</a> appear determined to rebuild America’s reputation. Their success or failure could affect not only U.S. well-being but also the character of “international society” for coming decades. Moderation, restraint and ethical clarity have been in short supply since 2001, but they might be replenished if the Biden team dips back into America’s tradition of inserting an ethical component in foreign policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151534/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Mayers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Four years of ‘America First’ has seen the US retreat from the world. But as a scholar of international relations explains, Biden could return Washington to the role of a more moral global leader.David Mayers, Professor of History and Political Science, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1023502018-09-01T10:14:35Z2018-09-01T10:14:35ZAustralian universities to benefit in Australia-Indonesia free trade deal<p>On August 31, Prime Minister Scott Morrison secured an end to negotiations on <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/not-yet-in-force/iacepa/Documents/iae-cepa-key-outcomes.pdf">a new free trade agreement</a> with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, opening a path for Australian universities to build new campuses in Indonesia. Negotiations began in 2012, but have recently ramped up. President Widodo and Prime Minister Morrison signed a memorandum of understanding committing the countries to get a free trade deal done by November.</p>
<p>Cooperation with Indonesia in the higher education space is both promising and complex. The prospect of Australian campuses in Indonesia represents another set of opportunities for education providers, in facilitating “internationalisation at home”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-indonesia-expects-from-australias-new-prime-minister-scott-morrison-102333">What Indonesia expects from Australia's new Prime Minister Scott Morrison</a>
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<p>The higher education component of this free trade deal is important to Australian universities and to the broader economy. But its negotiation presents significant challenges. It’s important to carefully consider how Australia approaches establishing campuses in Indonesia, keeping in mind the student experience is most important.</p>
<h2>Education cooperation with Indonesia</h2>
<p>Australia faces competition from other countries trying to attract Indonesian students, including the US, Malaysia, and increasingly <a href="https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2139714/whats-made-indonesian-students-forget-china-taboo">China</a>.</p>
<p>Education is crucial to the Australian economy. The category of education-related travel services is Australia’s largest services export and its <a href="https://www.austrade.gov.au/News/Economic-analysis/australias-export-performance-in-fy2017">third largest export overall</a>. Australia is the <a href="http://uis.unesco.org/en/uis-student-flow">most popular destination</a> for Indonesians studying overseas. </p>
<p>But given Indonesia’s large population (about 260 million) and close proximity to Australia, the number of Indonesian students studying in Australia at a tertiary level is surprisingly low. It sat at <a href="https://indonesia.embassy.gov.au/jakt/MR17_059.html">around 20,000</a> in the year to June 2017.</p>
<p>Far more students come from China (<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/chinese-student-numbers-fairly-modest-with-room-to-grow-says-minister-20180302-p4z2gr.html">about 166,000</a>) and India (<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/en/article/2018/02/16/number-indian-students-studying-australia-seven-year-high">about 70,000</a>). While these countries have bigger populations, we still might ask why a proportionately lower number of Indonesian students come to Australia for university and vocational courses.</p>
<p>Part of the answer is only about 46,000 Indonesians study at a tertiary level overseas. The proportion of the Indonesian population who complete tertiary education in Indonesia or another country is not high. The <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/beyond-access-making-indonesia-s-education-system-work#sec34441">gross</a> tertiary enrolment rate is <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/beyond-access-making-indonesia-s-education-system-work#sec34441">about 25%</a> – but the completion rate is lower. The Indonesian government is prioritising the improvement of the quality of its education system at all levels.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/indonesias-knowledge-sector-is-catching-up-but-a-large-gap-persists-67937">Indonesia’s knowledge sector is catching up, but a large gap persists</a>
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<p>This is, in part, why the education component of the trade deal is complicated. Australian universities have already <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/push-for-australian-university-campuses-in-indonesia-under-free-trade-deal-20170222-guiwhp.html">expressed interest</a> in establishing campuses in Indonesia. But these cannot be wholly owned by Australian institutions. The Indonesian government has indicated Australian universities must form partnerships with local private institutions. </p>
<p>Under the free trade agreement, Australian universities would be <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/free-trade-agreement-between-australia-indonesia-only-one-page-long-20180830-p500le.html">allowed to own 67%</a> of the campuses. Foreign investors are currently barred from majority ownership in an Indonesian university.</p>
<h2>Opportunities, risks and the ‘market’</h2>
<p>While it’s tempting for international education providers to see Indonesia as a growth market while <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/12/04/indonesia-middle-class-vital-for-the-country-future">the economy and middle class expand</a>, we shouldn’t assume the number of Indonesian students studying at Australian universities will increase. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://go8.edu.au/">Group of Eight</a> (Go8) has argued <a href="https://go8.edu.au/publication/group-eight-submission-department-foreign-affairs-and-trade-regarding-proposed-indonesia">in a submission</a> to the <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/pages/default.aspx">Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade</a> (DFAT) that the establishment of Australian campuses in Indonesia would provide study opportunities to students who couldn’t afford to study in Australia.</p>
<p>But there’s much to be negotiated and designed in regard to offshore campus structuring and managing risk. The experiences of establishing campuses in other countries have varied, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/branching-out-why-universities-open-international-campuses-despite-little-reward-46129">some have failed</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234372/original/file-20180831-195316-1ag4a42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234372/original/file-20180831-195316-1ag4a42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234372/original/file-20180831-195316-1ag4a42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234372/original/file-20180831-195316-1ag4a42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234372/original/file-20180831-195316-1ag4a42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234372/original/file-20180831-195316-1ag4a42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/234372/original/file-20180831-195316-1ag4a42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">It’s important to see Indonesian students not just as an economic opportunity, but as young people making big decisions about their future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<h2>Indonesian students aren’t just cash cows</h2>
<p>We should also caution against a tendency to consider international students primarily in terms of sources of revenue. Their individual learning experiences and well-being while in Australia, or on overseas campuses of Australian universities, must be at the forefront of decision-making in this space. </p>
<p>Our understanding of the Indonesian education system and the needs of Indonesian prospective students could be improved. A <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/beyond-access-making-indonesia-s-education-system-work#sec34441">recent report</a> is a rare example of the research we should undertake and understand. </p>
<p>The report examined the reasons Indonesia has so far failed to develop a high-quality education system capable of producing strong learning outcomes. It concluded this was mostly due to issues of power and politics, not funding or poor management.</p>
<p>If it’s done well, the internationalisation of higher education is an important part of broader diplomatic relations. We should see the overseas campuses proposal as a potentially valuable part of our efforts to improve an often fraught bilateral relationship. </p>
<p>The strategically minded may also see it as an effort to balance Chinese influence and competition in Southeast Asia. But Australian universities should remember this is one dimension of a large and complex set of collaborations with Indonesian students. They are, most importantly, young people making big decisions about their future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102350/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Avery Poole currently has a grant from The Australia-Indonesia Centre. </span></em></p>Under the free trade agreement, Australian universities will be able to have majority ownership of an Indonesian university.Avery Poole, Assistant Director, Melbourne School of Government, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/856412017-11-08T10:02:27Z2017-11-08T10:02:27ZThe world is in economic, political and environmental gridlock – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192064/original/file-20171026-13331-15k6sti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Fitria Ramli/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.journalofdemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Foa%26Mounk-27-3.pdf">crisis of contemporary democracy</a> has become a major subject of political science in recent years. Despite this, the symptoms of this crisis – the vote for Brexit and Trump, among others – were not foreseen. Nor were the underlying causes of this new constellation of politics.</p>
<p>Focusing on the internal development of national polities alone, as has typically been the trend in academia, does not help us unlock the deep drivers of change. It is only at the intersection of the national and international, of the nation-state and the global, that the real reasons can be found for the retreat to nationalism and authoritarianism.</p>
<p>In 2013, <a href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0745662390.html">we argued</a> that the concept of “gridlock” is the key to understanding why we are at a crossroads in global politics. Gridlock, we contended, threatens the hold and reach of the post-World War II settlement and, alongside it, the principles of the democratic project and global cooperation. Four years on, we have published <a href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1509515712.html">a new book</a> exploring how we might tackle this situation.</p>
<p>But before we look into this, what exactly is gridlock?</p>
<h2>Gridlock</h2>
<p>The post-war institutions, put in place to create a peaceful and prosperous world order, established conditions under which a plethora of other social and economic processes associated with globalisation could thrive. This allowed interdependence to deepen as new countries joined the global economy, companies expanded multinationally, and once distant people and places found themselves increasingly — and, on average, beneficially — intertwined. </p>
<p>But the virtuous circle between deepening interdependence and expanding global governance could not last: it set in motion trends that ultimately undermined its effectiveness.</p>
<p>In the first instance, reaching agreement in international negotiations is made more complicated by the rise of new powers like India, China and Brazil, because a more diverse array of interests have to be hammered into agreement for any global deal to be made. On the one hand, multipolarity is a positive sign of development; on the other, it brings both more voices and interests to the table. These are hard to weave into coherent outcomes.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192087/original/file-20171026-13355-1kc8rmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192087/original/file-20171026-13355-1kc8rmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192087/original/file-20171026-13355-1kc8rmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192087/original/file-20171026-13355-1kc8rmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192087/original/file-20171026-13355-1kc8rmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192087/original/file-20171026-13355-1kc8rmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192087/original/file-20171026-13355-1kc8rmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The General Debate of the 71st Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Golden Brown / Shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Next, the problems we are facing on a global scale have grown more complex, penetrating deep into domestic policies. Issues like climate change or the cross-border control of personal data deeply affect our daily lives. They are often extremely difficult to resolve. Multipolarity coincides with complexity, making negotiations tougher and harder.</p>
<p>In addition, the core multilateral institutions created 70 years ago, the UN Security Council for example, have proven resistant to adapting to the times. Established interests cling to outmoded decision-making rules that fail to reflect current conditions. </p>
<p>Finally, in many areas, transnational institutions, such as the <a href="https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/">Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria</a>, have proliferated with overlapping and contradictory mandates. This has created a confusing fragmentation of authority.</p>
<p>To manage the global economy, prevent runaway environmental destruction, reign in nuclear proliferation, or confront other global challenges, we must cooperate. But many of our tools for global policy making are breaking down or inadequate – chiefly, state-to-state negotiations over treaties and international institutions – at a time when our fates are acutely interwoven.</p>
<h2>Crisis of democracy</h2>
<p>Compounding these problems, gridlock today has set in motion a self-reinforcing element, which contributes to the crisis of democracy.</p>
<p>We face a multilateral, gridlocked system, as previously noted, that is less and less able to manage global challenges, even as growing interdependence increases our need for such management.</p>
<p>This has led to real and, in many cases, serious harm to major sectors of the global population, often creating complex and disruptive knock-on effects. Perhaps the most spectacular recent example was the 2008–9 <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/global-financial-crisis-447">global financial crisis</a>, which wrought havoc on the world economy in general, and on many countries in particular.</p>
<p>These developments have been a major impetus to significant political destabilisation. Rising <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/economic-inequality-15917">economic inequality</a>, a long-term trend in many economies, has been made more salient by the financial crisis. A stark political cleavage between those who have benefited from the globalisation, digitisation, and automation of the economy, and those who feel left behind, including many working-class voters in industrialised countries, has been reinforced. This division is particularly acute in spatial terms: in the schism between global cities and their hinterlands. </p>
<p>The financial crisis is only one area where gridlock has undercut the management of global challenges. For example, the failure to manage terrorism, and to bring to an end the wars in the Middle East more generally, have also had a particularly destructive impact on the global governance of migration. With <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/refugee-crisis-20183">millions of refugees</a> fleeing their homelands, many recipient countries have experienced a potent political backlash from right-wing national groups and disgruntled populations. </p>
<p>This further reduces the ability of countries to generate effective solutions to problems at the regional and global level. The resulting erosion of global cooperation is the fourth and final element of self-reinforcing gridlock, starting the whole cycle anew.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192080/original/file-20171026-13315-hysy1t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192080/original/file-20171026-13315-hysy1t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192080/original/file-20171026-13315-hysy1t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192080/original/file-20171026-13315-hysy1t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=323&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192080/original/file-20171026-13315-hysy1t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192080/original/file-20171026-13315-hysy1t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192080/original/file-20171026-13315-hysy1t.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The vicious gridlock cycle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span></span>
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<h2>Beyond Gridlock</h2>
<p>Modern democracy was supported by the post-World War II institutional breakthroughs that provided the momentum for decades of sustained economic growth and geopolitical stability, even though there were, of course, proxy wars fought out in the Global South. But what worked then does not work now. Gridlock freezes problem-solving capacity in global politics. This has engendered a crisis of democracy, as the politics of compromise and accommodation gives way to populism and authoritarianism. </p>
<p>While this remains a trend which is not yet set in stone, it is a dangerous development.</p>
<p>In our new book, <a href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1509515712.html">Beyond Gridlock</a>, we explore these dynamics at much greater length as well as how we might begin to move through and beyond gridlock. While there are no easy solutions, this does not mean there are no ways forward. There are some systematic means to avoid or resist these forces and turn them into collective solutions.</p>
<p>Different actors and agencies are devising new ways to solve global challenges, be it <a href="https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/">philanthropies teaming up with governments to tackle disease</a>, <a href="http://www.c40.org/">cities teaming up</a> across borders to fight climate change, or local communities <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/how-sanctuary-cities-are-plotting-to-resist-trump-w453239">taking in migrants</a>. Ambitious agreements like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/paris-agreement-23382">Paris Agreement</a> or the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/un-sustainable-development-goals-11649">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a> point toward common projects. And <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/profound-transformation-macron-lays-out-vision-for-post-brexit-eu">in some countries</a>, politicians are even winning elections by promising greater cooperation on shared challenges.</p>
<p>If we succeed in building a better global governance in the future, we will sap a key impetus behind the new nationalism. If we fail, we fuel the nationalist fire.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85641/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research that underpinned the work in Beyond Gridlock was funded by the Global Challenges Foundation (Sweden) </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Global Challenges Foundation supported two workshops that helped produce our book Beyond Gridlock. </span></em></p>How can we sort out the crisis of contemporary democracy?David Held, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Durham UniversityThomas Hale, Associate Professor in Public Policy, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/836712017-09-15T13:27:40Z2017-09-15T13:27:40ZThe UK continues to top world university rankings – here’s why that matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185984/original/file-20170914-8990-lqzgx0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>University rankings can be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2017/sep/11/graduate-employability-ranking-the-best-university-for-getting-a-job">very influential</a>. They are one way higher education institutions can show off their ability to <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2017090513250829">deliver good research and teaching</a>. And they are also a useful guide for potential students – with those from both the UK and overseas <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/student/news/why-do-students-go-university-and-how-do-they-choose-which-one">using various rankings</a> to help with their decision of where to study. </p>
<p>Attending a high-ranking university can provide graduates with better paid jobs, because top ranked universities are often looked on more favourably <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2015/09/when-it-comes-to-rankings-students-really-want-to-know-about-employment/">on CVs</a>. And as the number of people holding a degree increases, attending a higher ranked university is one way graduates can differentiate themselves from the competition.</p>
<p>Some students who don’t make the grade, will also look to “improve” or “upgrade” their education, based on the rankings of an institution. This is where students initially accept a place at a lower-ranked university and then <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/oct/06/should-you-switch-to-another-university">look to transfer</a> to a higher-ranked one later on. This can be done as part of a “top-up” program for undergraduate study or when they embark upon postgraduate study. </p>
<h2>International outlook</h2>
<p>But not all rankings are made equal. And it seems increasingly, some university league tables are proving to be <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2017/09/what-rankings-are-most-important-to-students/?utm_content=buffer54c38&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_campaign=buffer">more important</a> than others. This includes the more global ones – such as the <a href="https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings">QS World University Rankings</a> and <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings">The Times Higher Education World University Rankings</a> – this has seen many institutions working hard to remain at the top of such tables. </p>
<p>Many governments across the world also use global university rankings to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/sep/10/university-rankings-influence-government-policy">measure their competitiveness</a>. And in some countries they are even <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20170829141248285">used to help drive positive change</a> within higher education – rankings can be used as a benchmark, allowing institutions to identify strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185986/original/file-20170914-9038-1vxogtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185986/original/file-20170914-9038-1vxogtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185986/original/file-20170914-9038-1vxogtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185986/original/file-20170914-9038-1vxogtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185986/original/file-20170914-9038-1vxogtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185986/original/file-20170914-9038-1vxogtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185986/original/file-20170914-9038-1vxogtl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Oxford and Cambridge were named best two universities in the world in a recent ranking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The globalisation of higher education seems to show no signs of slowing down. In fact more universities are pursuing their internationalisation agendas to increase global competitiveness and attract the best and brightest academics and students. In a few cases some universities have even been said to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/08/06/universities-stopped-sidelining-british-students-foreign-teens/">favour international students over local ones</a> due to the higher fees they bring.</p>
<p>But as well as the high fees, there is also an argument that international students bring their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2015/jul/03/universities-dont-understand-how-international-students-learn">own knowledge</a> and understanding of the world. This global knowledge can then be shared among students and staff in the classroom – creating a global laboratory for open discussion and debate. </p>
<h2>Knowledge exchange</h2>
<p>In this way, the internationalisation of universities often results in both academics and students coming together from across the globe. This can increase the melting pot of ideas for research projects as well as the funding that can be applied for. </p>
<p>This international knowledge exchange can also help gather skills and knowledge from others that work in the same field. And can extend international research networks – as well as providing a <a href="https://www.jisc.ac.uk/blog/why-we-should-all-be-interested-in-international-research-programmes-29-sep-2015">greater audience for the research produced</a>. </p>
<p>But to continue to attract students and academics from overseas, universities need to remain competitive. And with political changes and international student enrolments <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/13/nearly-4-10-universities-report-drops-international-student-applications">down in countries such as the US</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/jul/14/international-student-numbers-have-been-plummeting-for-years-now-what">UK</a>, this may prove harder to achieve.</p>
<h2>Home and away</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/International/heglobal/Pages/what-is-transnational-education.aspx">Transnational education</a> (TNE) – where students can stay in their home country and study degrees from abroad – is one way universities have been expanding. And many governments, including <a href="http://monitor.icef.com/2017/03/uk-government-signals-increasing-emphasis-transnational-education/">the UK</a> have been supporting the development of educational partnerships and programs abroad. This allows universities to set up branch campuses or educational partnerships to recruit students who may not want to, or perhaps cannot leave their home country. </p>
<p>TNE provisions could also provide UK universities with <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-overseas-degrees-could-offer-students-the-best-of-both-worlds-post-brexit-63171">alternatives</a> after Brexit. But more importantly these branch campuses provide further exposure and awareness of their institution in new markets. All of which helps to secure and maintain their competitive position. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185985/original/file-20170914-9003-xvakzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185985/original/file-20170914-9003-xvakzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185985/original/file-20170914-9003-xvakzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185985/original/file-20170914-9003-xvakzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185985/original/file-20170914-9003-xvakzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185985/original/file-20170914-9003-xvakzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185985/original/file-20170914-9003-xvakzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The world’s your oyster when it comes to higher education.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What all this shows is that remaining in the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2018/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/scores">top spots of the rankings</a> – as many UK and US universities continue to do – is of course important for a number of reasons. </p>
<p>But as international student enrolment flattens, it is clear <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20170905140031381">the global higher education landscape is changing</a>. And with newer destinations for study such as <a href="https://thepienews.com/news/china-11-percent-growth-international-student/">China</a> entering the market, it seems governments and universities may need to be ready to consider alternative options if they want to remain competitive in this rapidly shifting landscape.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83671/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Cockayne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The globalisation of higher education and what it means for students.Heather Cockayne, Doctoral Researcher, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/832532017-09-06T10:44:51Z2017-09-06T10:44:51ZDo international students in Britain need better English skills?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184731/original/file-20170905-13709-bai7ol.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The start of the academic year is fast approaching, with new students from across the UK looking forward to starting university with a mix of trepidation and excitement. </p>
<p>The UK is also a popular place for <a href="https://theconversation.com/now-we-know-most-international-students-go-home-after-their-courses-the-vilification-must-end-83008">international students to study</a>, given that it has some of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/sep/05/oxford-cambridge-top-world-university-rankings">best universities in the world</a>. This means that many UK students studying at a British university will be joined in their lectures by students <a href="https://theconversation.com/indian-students-at-british-universities-is-a-tradition-we-should-cherish-and-protect-70456">from around the world</a>. </p>
<p>The latest <a href="https://institutions.ukcisa.org.uk/Info-for-universities-colleges--schools/Policy-research--statistics/Research--statistics/International-students-in-UK-HE/#International-(non-UK)-students-in-UK-HE-in-2015-16">UK Council for International Student Affairs</a> report shows that Chinese students studying at UK universities have far exceeded any other nationality since 2013. The same report also reveals that China is the only country showing significant increases compared with other non-EU countries where recruitment is virtually stagnant. </p>
<p>For many of these students from China, this may be the first time they are educated in only English. And there is the expectation that these students will be able to fully understand and keep up with other students.</p>
<h2>Language ability</h2>
<p>Having adequate English language skills is important to international students, as there’s no point in them turning up on their first day only to realise they don’t understand the curriculum. In the same way, this proficiency is also important to native English speakers – given that many courses require an element of group work and seminar discussions. Universities don’t want to accept students who will ultimately fail their course either. </p>
<p>International students are offered a place at UK universities on the condition that they have a certain level of English language proficiency. This is checked through a UK Home Office approved test known as the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/600175/2017-03-14-SELT-frequently-asked-questions-for-candidates-v2.0.pdf">Secured English Language Test</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184732/original/file-20170905-13714-8jq8ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184732/original/file-20170905-13714-8jq8ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184732/original/file-20170905-13714-8jq8ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184732/original/file-20170905-13714-8jq8ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184732/original/file-20170905-13714-8jq8ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184732/original/file-20170905-13714-8jq8ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184732/original/file-20170905-13714-8jq8ap.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">International students can sometimes struggle with the language.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In theory, students sit the test, pass and then look forward to starting their new life in a new country. But things get problematic when students do not achieve the required score. In this case, universities may then offer an additional pre-sessional programme of English language study at an extra cost to the student. If completed successfully, this allows these students onto their chosen course.</p>
<p>So far, so good. But the the problem here is that many students do not actually take the Secured English Language Test at the end of their pre-sessional programme. This means that it’s never categorically known if, by the end of the summer course, a student’s language proficiency is at the level originally required by the university.</p>
<h2>Testing times</h2>
<p>That said, it’s not in the interest of universities to set a student up for failure. But surely if the entry requirement of a university course is a certain grade in the Home Office exam, then the same exam should be given at the end of these programmes. This would help to maintain a level playing field for all students on the course. </p>
<p>As someone who works on these pre-sessional programmes as an assistant professor, I believe there is clearly a value in teaching English for academic purposes. These sessions are also a time when nonnative learners can get a sense of the UK’s academic culture along with the conventions they will be expected to follow – something some UK students would also benefit from, too.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184735/original/file-20170905-13703-1y1mcq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184735/original/file-20170905-13703-1y1mcq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184735/original/file-20170905-13703-1y1mcq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184735/original/file-20170905-13703-1y1mcq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184735/original/file-20170905-13703-1y1mcq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184735/original/file-20170905-13703-1y1mcq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184735/original/file-20170905-13703-1y1mcq6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">International students need to be made to feel welcome.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But of course, the point of the programmes is about getting students up to a certain standard of English. Perhaps then the answer is for the Home Office approved tests to be changed to better reflect what is being covered in university pre-sessional programmes.</p>
<p>What this all boils down to is that universities must make sure they are doing enough to support <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-internationalisation-matters-in-universities-72533">international students</a>. And this support is particularly important given the outcome of the EU referendum and the UK’s apparent fixation with <a href="https://theconversation.com/brutality-of-british-immigration-detention-system-laid-bare-83396">immigration</a>. In this way, <a href="https://theconversation.com/drop-in-overseas-students-adds-to-universities-cash-woes-25451">the numbers speak for themselves</a> – international students wanting to come and study in the UK is no longer something universities can simply take for granted.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bobby Pathak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An insider’s view.Bobby Pathak, Assistant Professor (Pre-Sessional) English for Academic Purposes, Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/725332017-03-06T11:48:40Z2017-03-06T11:48:40ZWhy internationalisation matters in universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158562/original/image-20170227-20702-s066rs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We are living in strange times. The US has elected the most <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/11/29/regime-change-abroad-fascism-at-home-how-us-interventions-paved-the-way-for-trump/">authoritarian ruler in the country’s history</a>, while the EU has been split by the Brexit vote. </p>
<p>Both Donald Trump’s election and Brexit triggered sharp uptakes in <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/brexit-hate-crimes-racism-eu-referendum-vote-attacks-increase-police-figures-official-a7358866.html">racial violence</a>. In both countries, death threats and hate crime increased rapidly – <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maureensullivan/2016/11/29/are-there-really-more-hate-crimes-at-schools-following-donald-trumps-election/&refURL=https://www.google.co.uk/&referrer=https://www.google.co.uk/">particularly in schools</a> – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/11/us/police-investigate-attacks-on-muslim-students-at-universities.html">while hostility towards minorities</a> was higher than anything seen in the past 30 years. </p>
<p>Both events have been attributed (in part) to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/09/how-trump-won-the-revenge-of-working-class-whites/?utm_term=.219be1ac3612">revenge of the white working class</a> – a group of people who have been <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/11/white-working-class-another-form-identity-politics">left behind by globalisation</a>. And in line with this thinking, Marine Le Pen, the nationalist leader who is competing to be the next president of France, has spoken about the <a href="https://www.axios.com/the-french-trump-declares-war-against-savage-globalism-2301756254.html">war she will wage</a> on “savage” globalism – which she described as “an ideology with no constraints”. </p>
<p>Against this background, internationalisation is promoted as a top priority in many universities around the world. International students are said to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uk-government-is-undermining-one-of-its-most-valuable-exports-education-29681">more lucrative than home students</a>, and university profit margins increase <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/reports/Documents/2014/the-impact-of-universities-on-the-uk-economy.pdf">in proportion to their ratio</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, new research into the <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/news/Pages/International-students-now-worth-25-billion-to-UK-economy---new-research.aspx?mc_cid=47981f5766&mc_eid=58af58a7d1">economic impact of international students</a> in the UK shows that between 2014 and 2015, spending by international students supported 206,600 jobs in university towns and cities. The research conducted for Universities UK by Oxford Economics found that, in that period, on and off-campus spending by international students and their visitors <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/news/Pages/International-students-now-worth-25-billion-to-UK-economy---new-research.aspx?mc_cid=47981f5766&mc_eid=58af58a7d1">generated more than 25 billion</a> for the UK economy – providing a significant boost to regional jobs and local businesses.</p>
<p>But while universities need to sustain themselves financially, viewing international students only from an economic point of view means the quality of higher education is cheapened – and the students themselves are commodified.
This is an important point, because internationalisation – in the broadest sense of the term – is about a great deal more than just profit margins. </p>
<p>So at a time when our globally interconnected world is not at peace with diversity, I want to offer four arguments in favour of internationalisation in higher education, that reach well beyond economic sustainability:</p>
<h2>1. For the greater good</h2>
<p>Internationalisation is an ethical imperative. We live in a racist age. Brexit and the US elections have both revealed that if communities do not embrace racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, and national diversity, then the world as we know it will cease to function. </p>
<p>The number of people who favour restrictions on minorities has become evident by their strong showing at the voting booths, and the highly radicalised patterns of recent elections. </p>
<p>So in light of this, universities must do more than simply promote internationalisation in the generic sense. They must actively resist the forces that oppose it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158565/original/image-20170227-26306-6y7mnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158565/original/image-20170227-26306-6y7mnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158565/original/image-20170227-26306-6y7mnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158565/original/image-20170227-26306-6y7mnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158565/original/image-20170227-26306-6y7mnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158565/original/image-20170227-26306-6y7mnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158565/original/image-20170227-26306-6y7mnm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Loving internationalism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. It helps people to grow</h2>
<p>Internationalisation is a necessary means of “self-transformation”. Contact with international students enables people to see the world from vantage points that reach beyond their own backgrounds – and this allows them to learn about new cultures and countries. </p>
<p>It may well be the case that the UK needs international students for monetary reasons too, but if universities do not bring longer term ethical and intellectual considerations to bear on the profit motive, then who will? </p>
<h2>3. Best of both worlds</h2>
<p>Internationalisation is the process through which people contribute to the world, while also being shaped by it. </p>
<p>Successful internationalisation means training students to approach their own cultures, texts, and traditions in different ways and through comparative perspectives. </p>
<p>This is a process through which all involved are transformed, and compelled to think differently about their own traditions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158567/original/image-20170227-25959-12m7gda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/158567/original/image-20170227-25959-12m7gda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158567/original/image-20170227-25959-12m7gda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158567/original/image-20170227-25959-12m7gda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158567/original/image-20170227-25959-12m7gda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158567/original/image-20170227-25959-12m7gda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/158567/original/image-20170227-25959-12m7gda.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Time for a new internationalism in UK universities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. It helps people to see beyond themselves</h2>
<p>Internationalisation is a comparative project. And it is an agenda with
intellectual implications. It gives students and scholars the opportunity – and indeed the pressure – to view themselves and their cultures in new ways.</p>
<p>But if universities invest in the economic agenda of internationalisation without being prepared to embrace its intellectual consequences, then they embark a doomed project. Internationalisation pursued in this way will end, not only with the failure of its mission, but also with the cheapening of university education. And so for universities to fully internationalise themselves, it is clear that they must look to internationalise their fellow citizens first.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72533/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Ruth Gould does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our globally interconnected world is not at peace with diversity, this is where internationalisation can step-in.Rebecca Ruth Gould, Reader in Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/579062016-04-21T20:40:41Z2016-04-21T20:40:41ZThe Sixties and Red Africa: the decade of searching for African utopias<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119846/original/image-20160422-17369-blf0kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">James Brown fans Bamako</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/patrice-lumumba-38745#death-and-legacy">Patrice Lumumba</a> was a celebrity in <a href="http://geography.about.com/od/politicalgeography/a/fmryugoslavia.htm">Yugoslavia</a>. Lumumba’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/17/patrice-lumumba-50th-anniversary-assassination">execution</a> in 1961 caused such outrage that the Belgian embassy in the Yugoslav capital Belgrade was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/19/newsid_2748000/2748931.stm">ransacked</a>.</p>
<p>Yugoslav leader <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tito-is-made-president-for-life">Josip Tito</a> was himself a regular visitor to Africa – he went to Gamal Abdel <a href="http://nasser.bibalex.org/common/pictures01-%20sira_en.htm">Nasser</a>’s Egypt 20 times. Tito’s aim was to consolidate the socialist friendship sweeping through the 1960s.</p>
<p>Such connections in the 1960s-70s and their contemporary legacies are revealed in two striking recent cultural seasons: <a href="http://calvert22.org/red-africa/">“Red Africa”</a> at the Calvert 22 in London and <a href="https://tropenmuseum.nl/en/press/Sixties">“The Sixties</a> – A Worldwide Happening” in Amsterdam’s <a href="https://tropenmuseum.nl/">Tropenmuseum</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119452/original/image-20160420-25597-1pgg6qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119452/original/image-20160420-25597-1pgg6qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119452/original/image-20160420-25597-1pgg6qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119452/original/image-20160420-25597-1pgg6qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119452/original/image-20160420-25597-1pgg6qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119452/original/image-20160420-25597-1pgg6qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119452/original/image-20160420-25597-1pgg6qu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1056&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Red Africa’ banner at London’s Calvert 22 gallery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Calvert 22</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“Red Africa” was centred on the <a href="http://calvert22.org/exhibitions/things-fall-apart-1">“Things Fall Apart”</a> exhibition and accompanying special report of the <a href="http://calvertjournal.com/features/show/5324/red-africa-special-report"><em>Calvert Journal</em></a>. It focused on relations between Africa, the <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/union-soviet-socialist-republics.html">Soviet Union</a> and related socialist countries (1960s-80s). It did so via art, film, photography and architecture.</p>
<p>“The Sixties” and <a href="http://www.ideabooks.nl/9789462261501-the-sixties-a-worldwide-happening">its book</a> was more catholic. It foregrounded the non-Western history of this most iconic liberation era. Through fashion, art and music it stressed the promiscuous connections that pulsed across the world.</p>
<h2>Warm clasp of friendship</h2>
<p>One particular idea shone through both exhibitions for me: the importance of globally entangled utopianisms for Africa. It was such thinking that embroidered the martyr icon of Lumumba and conditioned the warm clasp of Tito’s hand of friendship.</p>
<p>Utopianism is the imagination and exposition of a society that does not exist. (“Utopia” derives from the Greek “no-place”.) But it has intrinsically more desirable qualities than what persists in reality.</p>
<p>From philosophers like <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-more-9414278">Thomas More</a> to <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/b/biography-of-william-morris/">William Morris</a>, the purpose of utopian expression has been to critique existing societies and ideologies. Utopianism gives collective purpose to build a better future, to emphasise the ethical or practical shortcomings of the status quo.</p>
<p>For independent Africans in an era of new <a href="http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history">Cold War</a> opportunity, utopianism was not ethereal or naive (as the term is commonly understood). It was steeped in a realist understanding of the trajectory of global power. Utopian thinking created new international friendships and would construct a brighter, very possible postcolonial future.</p>
<p>There hasn’t been enough space for utopianism in the consideration of independent African nations and their foreign relations.</p>
<p>We don’t delve enough into the imaginative lives of Africans struggling to build a postcolonial world. Looking backwards, we have tended to dismiss idealised communities of solidarity. The security of “realism” and dark pall of neocolonialism pervade.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119453/original/image-20160420-25631-1mxwwhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119453/original/image-20160420-25631-1mxwwhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119453/original/image-20160420-25631-1mxwwhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119453/original/image-20160420-25631-1mxwwhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119453/original/image-20160420-25631-1mxwwhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119453/original/image-20160420-25631-1mxwwhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119453/original/image-20160420-25631-1mxwwhr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1032&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was a global icon.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Wayland Rudd Collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Increasingly, however, pioneers – artists, academics and activists from the progressive world – are seeking out what African citizens <em>dreamed</em> at the buoyant moment of independence and its tumultuous aftermath. </p>
<p>They assess how utopian hopes entangled with wider global currents to build a free future in the 1960s. From the 1970s, utopian expression has creatively criticised the very deficiencies of liberation.</p>
<p>As demonstrated at “Red Africa” and “The Sixties”, art is at the vanguard of such real-world concerns.</p>
<h2>‘Red Africa’ and ‘The Sixties’: socialism and optimism</h2>
<p>Utopianism was under the surface of “Red Africa”. Behind-the-scenes snaps of Tito’s <a href="http://calvertjournal.com/features/show/5337/red-africa-tito-presidential-tour-unofficial-scenes">safaris</a> sat next to the beguiling 2016 film “<a href="https://vimeo.com/88701475">Our Africa</a>”. Here Russian filmmaker <a href="https://vimeo.com/user3714560">Alexander Markov</a> unravels how Soviet filmmakers recorded the “joyous” expansion of socialism. Footage of African leaders dancing Russian jigs on state tours of the Soviet Union illustrates how propagandists presented the Tanzanian ideology of “<a href="http://www.juliusnyerere.org/index.php/resources/speeches/ujamaa_-_the_basis_of_african_socialism_julius_k._nyerere/">Ujamaa</a>” and Africa as integral to world socialist development.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119458/original/image-20160420-25634-9epvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119458/original/image-20160420-25634-9epvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119458/original/image-20160420-25634-9epvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119458/original/image-20160420-25634-9epvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=723&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119458/original/image-20160420-25634-9epvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119458/original/image-20160420-25634-9epvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119458/original/image-20160420-25634-9epvk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eva – a photograph by Ghanaian photographer James Barnor at ‘The Sixties’ exhibition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Barnor / Tropen Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Korean photographer <a href="http://www.photoquai.fr/2015/en/photographes/che-onejoonen/">Onejoon Che</a> uncovers the fascinating story of the <a href="http://calvertjournal.com/features/show/5336/red-africa-che-onejoon-north-korea-statues-africa">Mansudae Art Studio</a>. Established in 1959, it aided the construction of macho “socialist realist” African monuments as part of North Korea’s controversial charm offensive.</p>
<p>It was an interesting ride. But “Red Africa” prompted me to think more about how Africans themselves shaped and utilised such utopian <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/internationalism">internationalisms</a> in those heady days of independence. </p>
<p>A visit to “The Sixties” with our new <a href="http://afroasiannetworks.com/">Afro-Asian Networks</a> research group reinforced the feeling. The collection powerfully evoked a moment of intense optimism and global connection. For example, soul superstar <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-brown-mn0000128099/biography">James Brown</a> provided the soundtrack for youth in <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13881370">Mali</a>’s capital of Bamako. It got portrayed in the vivacious <a href="http://warholfoundation.org/grant/paper11/paper.html">photos</a> of the late <a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/news/remembering-malick-sidibe/">Malick Sidibé</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hRubq5D-3kM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">James Brown was hugely popular with young people in Africa during the 60s and 70s.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We were reminded to take seriously those future-oriented visions of the ebullient and utopian 1960s.</p>
<h2>Utopianism in Africa: a necessity?</h2>
<p>Utopianism is a particularly neglected prism through which to view Africa’s varied independent landscapes. </p>
<p>Through African literature, which leads the charge, academic <a href="https://sam.arts.unsw.edu.au/about-us/people/bill-ashcroft/">Bill Ashcroft</a> argues for the very “<a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/18186874.2013.834557"><em>necessity</em> of utopia</a>” in Africa. Utopia – “the un-place” – is the key space where ideas of colonialism or catastrophe undermining African people can be challenged. Ashcroft says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What is remarkable about African literature and cultural production is the stunning tenacity of its hope … conceptions of utopian hope – the ‘not-yet’ – is always a possibility emerging from the past.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And it was the <em>global</em> entanglement of varied utopianisms that shone through at “Red Africa” and “The Sixties”.</p>
<p>It was bright in the work of Russian artist <a href="http://yevgeniyfiks.com/section/408212-The-Wayland-Rudd-Collection-2014.html">Yevgeniy Fiks</a>. His <a href="http://calvertjournal.com/features/show/5323/red-africa-yevgeniy-fiks-history-soviet-relations-africa-art-ideology">collection</a> of Soviet art depicting African and African-American life revealed racism of representation. But Fiks saw, as he explains:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a very complex and contradictory legacy in which there is room for genuine internationalism, anti-racism and solidarity, alongside racial stereotyping and objectification.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That African intellectuals and those in the diaspora found such sanitised images empowering is genuinely important. </p>
<p>In the words of <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_harlem.html">Harlem Renaissance</a> titan <a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/langston-hughes">Langston Hughes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://marxistleninist.wordpress.com/2010/02/14/langston-hughes-goodmorning-stalingrad/">Good morning Stalingrad!</a>/ You’re half a world away or more/ But when your
guns roar,/ They roar for me —/ And for everybody/ who wants to be free.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Engaging globally connected utopianisms – the un-places; the spaces of hope – is necessary to properly comprehend the intricacies of African decolonisation and independence.</p>
<h2>Science fiction</h2>
<p>It seemed fitting to depart “Red Africa” in one major arena of utopianism: science fiction. </p>
<p>Angolan photographer <a href="http://www.frieze.com/article/focus-kiluanji-kia-henda">Kiluanji Kia Henda</a>’s 2007 installation “<a href="http://calvertjournal.com/features/show/5312/red-africa-icarus-13-africa-journey-sun-space-mission">Icarus 13: The First Journey to the Sun</a>” presents the “pliable fiction” of an African space mission. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119454/original/image-20160420-25592-gwc3gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119454/original/image-20160420-25592-gwc3gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119454/original/image-20160420-25592-gwc3gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119454/original/image-20160420-25592-gwc3gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119454/original/image-20160420-25592-gwc3gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119454/original/image-20160420-25592-gwc3gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/119454/original/image-20160420-25592-gwc3gp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From ‘Icarus 13: The First Journey to the Sun’ (2008), Luanda-based artist Kiluanji Kia Henda’s imagining of an African space mission.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Calvert 22 Gallery</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But his images point to something unsettling for Angola, that “<a href="http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/magnificent-and-beggar-land/">magnificent and beggar land</a>”. His utopian critique creates “a memorial to a future that never came to pass”, an indictment of an independence failed.</p>
<p>For Henda, there are two things that are of vital interest for Africa: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>the ability to know about and write your own history, and the ability to plan for the future.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Looking to utopianism seems one fruitful route for these enmeshed historical and contemporary civil society agendas. We need, ourselves, to be more utopian perhaps.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57906/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gerard McCann does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Utopianism is a neglected prism through which to view Africa. It is the space where the intricacies of decolonisation and independence can be properly comprehended.Gerard McCann, Lecturer in African and Transnational History, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.