The Governance of European Higher Education: Convergence or Divergence analyses governance at state and institutional levels in five European higher education systems chosen as representative of European higher education as a whole: Germany, Hungary, Norway, Portugal and the UK (as in England, Scotland and Wales). Drawing on 180 detailed face-to-face interviews with policymakers and universities the book explores the extent to which governance and systems have been converging or diverging towards or away from a common European model over the last decade and records the evidence of growing directional controls exercised by the various states.

This book asks how modern universities are organized and managed, and questions whether 30 years of university reforms have resulted in stronger managerial structures and leadership control. It further asks whether current organisational and decision-making structures can be explained by public reform policies. The book offers a coherent, empirically grounded and theoretically driven presentation of data and core ideas behind a large scale comparative study of 26 universities across eight European countries. It focuses on the strength of university managerial structures, the role of academics, and how universities relate to and depend on their environment: to governments and other actors; to funders; to evaluators; and to external stakeholders. It further explores how higher education policies are shaped by and affect universities. Written by a cross-disciplinary team of European scholars, this book is unique both in its wide coverage and the depth of its analyses. It will be of great interest to scholars, graduate students and advanced undergraduates in the fields of organisation theory and sociology, policy studies, comparative public policy and administration, and higher education studies. It will also be of interest to higher education policy makers and administrators.

Higher education is going through a turbulent period of change. Based on a research project coordinated by J DEGREESDurgen Enders at the University of Kassel in Germany, the book highlights the changes taking place in higher education and examines the working conditions of academic staff in fourteen European countries.

All countries in the study have seen changes regarding the actors and procedures relevant for the regulation of the employment relationships of academic staff. Academic staff are higher education's most important asset and most costly resource. Employment and working conditions of academic staff are, therefore, not only influenced by these developments but seen as an important tool for adaptation to the new circumstances higher education faces. Thus it is not only of interest to demonstrate and compare variations across and within countries, but also to analyze the outcomes of the changing academic environment on the academic labor market and the conditions of working life.

In the last few decades, the media, academics, and the general public have put considerable focus on Muslim culture and politics around the world. Specifically, the rising population of young Muslims has generated concerns about religious radicalism, Islamism, and conflicts in multicultural societies. However, few studies have been devoted to how a new generation of Muslims is reshaping society in positive ways. In Political Muslims, Abbas and Hamid provide a new perspective on Muslim youth, presenting them as agents of creative social change and as active participants in cultural and community organizations where resistance leads to negotiated change. In a series of case studies that cross the globe, contributors capture the experiences of being young and Muslim in ten countries?the United States, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, and Indonesia. They examine urban youth from various socioeconomic backgrounds, addressing issues that range from hybrid identities and student activism to the strategic use of music and social media. With diverse disciplinary and methodological approaches, Political Muslims gives readers a nuanced and authentic understanding of the everyday social, economic, and political realities of young people.