Rethinking internationalization of higher education under geopolitical shifts: policy responses in China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the U.S., and the U.K.

This paper examines how geopolitical transformations since the 2010s have reshaped the internationalization of higher education (IHE) across six major systems: China, Japan, South Korea (hereafter, Korea), Australia, the United States (U.S.), and the United Kingdom (U.K.). Moving beyond descriptive accounts of policy change, the study argues that contemporary internationalization is best understood as a geopolitically conditioned and differentiated policy field structured by distinct national policy logics. Drawing on comparative case analysis, policy documents, and recent theoretical frameworks – including the glonacal agency heuristic, responsible internationalization, and strategic regionalism – the paper develops a theory-informed analytical model that identifies three ideal-typical logics: state-led strategic internationalization (China and the U.S.), market-dependent internationalization (Australia and the U.K.), and demography- and function-driven internationalization (Japan and Korea). The analysis shows that these logics reflect how governments and institutions reinterpret internationalization in response to geopolitical rivalry, economic vulnerability, and domestic structural challenges. While countries exhibit hybrid configurations, systematic variation can be explained by the interaction of global pressures and national institutional conditions. The paper reconceptualizes internationalization as a strategically mediated and context-sensitive process, rather than a uniform cooperative phenomenon, offering comparative insights into how higher education systems adapt to an increasingly fragmented and uncertain global environment.