Globalization or re-colonization: Higher education reforms in Hong Kong

Over the past few decades, the process of globalization had unquestionably caused a paradigm shift in the philosophy of governance. The shift from the welfare state to competitive state has enabled the government to rollback as a service provider and to control the services rendered by various service providers by “steering at a distance”. With the emphasis given to accountability, effectiveness, efficiency and economy, the core elements of “New Public Management” or “corporate managerialism”, the public sector is now managed in line with such notions. Higher education, similar to other major public policies, is now governed by market ideologies and the corporate discourse of efficiency and effectiveness. This paper discusses the theme of “globalization or re-colonization” by examining how three major areas of higher education reforms in Hong Kong, namely, teaching, research and management, have been affected by the global tide of managerialism. It is argued that instead of being “hollowed out”, states will continue to respond to globalization in different ways that ensure their ability to govern the public service sectors like higher education. The authors believe that if we solely follow the global practices and ideologies without developing our own unique systems, we would be entering an era of “re-colonization”. © 2000 International Association of Universities. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.