Finland–EU higher education policy network: Structure, formation, and characteristics

This introduction sets the premise for researching European Union (EU)–Finland networks in the context of higher education policymaking. It discusses our ontological assumptions concerning the dynamics of knowledge use and production in higher education policymaking networks. We analyse various approaches to studying knowledge and justify our epistemological premise for defining knowledge in relation to its socially and politically constructed nature as evidence mobilised for policymaking. While we share many of the ontological and epistemological assumptions of theories on European polity, our theoretical framework departs from the traditional view of institutions as key actors, instead emphasising networks of policy actors. This chapter introduces a novel perspective on European higher education policymaking by attempting to show that knowledge practices are legitimised through policy actor networks operating and enacting power in EU policymaking. In our attempts to conceptualise the knowledge network in the context of contemporary European education scholarship, we recognise the debates around governing processes, the Europeanisation of education, and the epistemic governance of European education through knowledge policies and expertise. We suggest a new conceptualisation that focuses on higher education policymaking from the perspective of knowledge networks and a methodological approach that combines network analysis, interviews, and observation.