https://www-scopus-com.unpad.idm.oclc.org/pages/publications/85217741116

This article, authored by a research team from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Padjadjaran, was published in 2025 in Higher Education.

The study critically examines the widespread adoption of developed institutional models by supranational organizations to enhance higher education governance in developing countries, focusing on Lao universities in Southeast Asia. It reveals that despite the top-down implementation of corporate governance frameworks since the 1990s, there are significant gaps between formal governance structures and actual decision-making power.

Through document analysis, consultations with university managers, and faculty surveys, the research highlights how “glonacal” dynamics complicate the transplantation of neoliberal governance models. This calls for a reevaluation of “good governance” ideals within international development projects and highlights the complex realities in less-developed university systems dominated by external influences. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-025-01407-1