Regional higher education co-operation: a research proposal to compare the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea regions

While the Baltic Sea Region is considered to be a pioneer region in the development of regional integration and identity, the Black Sea Region is regarded to be a laggard in terms of regionali zation and region building. My paper summarizes the role of regional higher education co-operation in the Baltic Sea regionalization process in theory and analyzes the empirical background of these assumptions. Yet, inasmuch an evaluation of the regions` status as a pioneer is possible only in a comparative perspective, I propose to compare the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea Region regarding their higher education networks systematically. My paper asks for the transferability of arguments in favor of a strong regional higher education co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region since the 1990s to today’s situation of the Black Sea Region. It concludes with some fundamental considerations on a comparative research project.