Reading the Global and the Emerging Challenges Facing Comparative Education

In this essay honouring Bob Cowen, we address the contemporary challenges facing comparative education in responding to his call to “read the global”. We argue that the neoliberal imaginary, which has long shaped understandings of global educational policy and governance, is increasingly marked by contradiction and exhaustion. Contemporary geopolitical, economic and cultural shifts are reconfiguring the global order and demanding new approaches to educational purposes and governance. Rising inequalities, populism, anti-globalisation sentiment, post-truth politics and the platformisation of society have made the task of reading the global increasingly difficult. We analyse the implications of these developments for comparative education today.