Universities Steering between Stories and History

The first section of the chapter draws upon the possible redefinitions of the role of the nation-state since the 1980s, describing how concrete changes identified in many other public sectors are also observable in HE. As for other sectors, HE exhibits specific national mixes on three vital characteristics of political systems: multilevel governmental steering, the strength of the nation-state and the vitality of democratic institutions. The second section returns to the theoretical questions raised in the book intro- duction by raising the following question. How may the pattern and outcome of processes of reform and change during the last decades best be understood? How much can the New Public Management (NPM) and Network Governance (NG) narratives account for HE national reforms during the last 3 decades?