The role of geopolitics in world-class universities : Japan’s implications for Hong Kong
Date of Award
5-27-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Policy Studies (DPS)
First Advisor
Prof. XIONG Weiyan
Second Advisor
Prof. Angela HOU
Abstract
Since the return of great power competition has reached almost every aspect of world politics, including higher education, it is significant to have an interdisciplinary study to expand the understanding of the interplay between geopolitics and higher education by exploring the role of geopolitics in world-class universities. By doing so, this study is to examine the higher education issue of world-class university with a world view from the discipline of international relations. The main purpose of this research is to understand the role of geopolitics in the building of world-class universities in Japan, as well as its implications to Hong Kong. With the determination to gain a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between geopolitics and higher education, this research is designed to be a case study of Japan that aimed to explore the altitude, vision, and rationales behind world-class university policies, as well as the dynamics of geopolitics, government, and universities. It is also aimed to tell the story of the development of world-class universities in Japan against the backdrop of geopolitics, and to present its implications to Hong Kong.
To better understand the role of geopolitics in world-class universities, as well as Japan’s implications for Hong Kong, this study has proposed four guided research questions: 1) How does geopolitics impact world-class universities? 2) What are the challenges and impacts of national policies regarding world-class universities in Japan? 3) What are the challenges for Hong Kong when developing its world-class universities? 4) How can Hong Kong learn from Japan’s experience?
Three phases of data collection had been carried out between 2022 and 2023 to answer the four guiding research questions, which included the first two phases of fieldwork in Japan during the November and December of 2022, and the final phase that consisted of in-depth interviews in Hong Kong in January 2023. This study had conducted campus tours in Japanese national and private universities, an in-class participation in a world-class university in Japan, in-depth semi-structured interviews with university faculty members and senior university administrators across Japan and Hong Kong, as well as the in-depth conversations with university faculty members in Japan and a former special advisor to the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. All conversations and interviews were transcribed and returned to participants for member-checking.
This study has contributed to filling the research gaps first by providing a higher education study on the impact of geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific context, and the findings highlighted Hong Kong’s current understanding of the Tokyo Bay Area might have been an imaginary concept, as the term Tokyo Bay Area is neither a well-known subject in Japan nor a bay area that could resemble the capacity of the Silicon Valley in the United States. In addition, through revealing the interplay between geopolitics and higher education, this study hopes to rediscover the purpose of higher education at times of great geopolitical uncertainty through understanding the role of geopolitics in world-class universities.
Keywords
World-Class Universities, Geopolitics, Higher Education, Indo-Pacific, Tokyo Bay Area, Hong Kong
Language
English
Copyright
The copyright of this thesis is owned by its author. Any reproduction, adaptation, distribution or dissemination of this thesis without express authorization is strictly prohibited.
Recommended Citation
Yim, L. H. (2024). The role of geopolitics in world-class universities: Japan’s implications for Hong Kong (doctoral thesis, Lingnan University, Hong Kong). Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/otd_tpg/34/
