Keywords

Introduction

The ruptures and developments in the global system over the last two decades have led countries worldwide to make breakthroughs in different fields to gain a more influential position in international relations. The transition from the international system of the Cold War era shaped around two main power axes to a multidimensional and multilayered order has transformed interstate relations into a more complex and interconnected system than ever before.Footnote 1 With the impact of globalization, traditional diplomacy has been replaced by an active multidimensional approach to diplomacy, which has necessitated that states determine a new road map in many areas such as education, art, culture, sports, religion, and civil society.

The realization that soft power elements in international relations make a visible contribution to states in terms of creating spheres of influence and pursuing decisive policies has resulted in many strong and weak actors paying more attention to the development of this field in recent years. Soft power priorities, which vary according to the historical mission, cultural richness, and economic capacity of states, have started to shift toward the field of education with the rise of the internationalization trend in higher education all over the world. States trying to invite more international students through scholarships and other opportunities consider the internationalization of higher education as a strategy that will have positive effects in the coming decades. Notably, states with a solid economic capacity have taken more serious steps toward internationalization in higher education in recent years. In this respect, the vision and policies of the Gulf states (i.e., Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain) regarding the internationalization of higher education in recent years occupy a significant place in parallel with these countries’ attempts at repositioning themselves in the international system.

The increasing trend of internationalization in higher education due to the acceleration of systemic transformation and the need for alternative ways in education, especially due to the new situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has offered many countries’ new opportunities regarding digitalization. Many countries that aim to attract more students worldwide by creating robust digital infrastructures in education are thus trying to gain an advantage in terms of playing a more influential role in international relations. From this point of view, the current chapter will refer to the literature on soft power and internationalization of education and discuss the Gulf states’ vision of internationalization in higher education and what steps they have taken in this regard.

Soft Power and the Internationalization of Higher Education

Soft power refers to the ability to indirectly make another actor or state do what is wanted as opposed to the ability and capability to get what one wants by using carrots and sticks directly through military and economic power. Soft power is based on “the ability to shape and change the preferences of others” (Nye, 2004, p. 5).Footnote 2 In international politics, soft power stems from the values a state or organization expresses in its culture, policy examples, and relations with other states or organizations (Nye, 2004, p. 8). However, a state has three primary sources of soft power: culture, political values, and foreign policy. In this context, states that have universal and pursue policies aligned with these values are more likely to influence and attract others through soft power. High culture elements that appeal to the elite, such as literature, art, and education, as well as popular culture tools that focus on the entertainment of the masses, similarly express the role of culture in a state’s soft power. Here, tools such as trade, personal contacts, visits, and exchanges are instrumental in making a country’s culture known to the citizens of other countries (Nye, 2004, pp. 11–13).

This is precisely the context in which the relationship between soft power and higher education should be emphasized. Nye, who first introduced the concept of soft power, stated that higher education is essential for a state to increase its soft power. In this regard, American higher education institutions are noted to have significantly increased the USA’s soft power (Nye, 2005, p. 13). Students from many countries enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs at the US universities have become familiar with American culture and brought it back to their home countries. These students have held important political, economic, and social positions in their home countries and contributed positively to their countries’ relations with the USA (Nye, 2004, p. 13). Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, expressed this in a 2001 statement: “I can think of no more valuable asset to our country than the friendship of future world leaders who have been educated here” (Nye, 2005, pp. 13–14).

Historically, the relationship between soft power and higher education can be traced back to the Middle Ages when universities first emerged. During this period, the various Italian universities in Europe and the Sorbonne University in Paris significantly influenced intellectuals on the rest of the continent. The mobility of students and scholars across the continent reflected the character of the universities and paved the way for Latin to become the leading academic language on the continent. Similarly, the exchange and mobility between Greek-speaking Byzantine scholars and scholars of Arabic culture is another example of the situation in the Middle Ages (Wojcik, 2018, p. 343). The academic and cultural exchanges between the USA and the Soviet Union during the Cold War played an important role in increasing the soft power of the USA (Nye, 2005, p. 14). Similarly, the Confucius Institutes of the People’s Republic of China (Yang, 2010) as well as Oxford’s Rhodes Scholarships, which aim to spread British values throughout the world, have also played an essential role in increasing the soft power of these countries. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program, which has provided higher education scholarships to 400,000 students from 150 countries, can be shown among the basic soft power tools. In the Soviet Union, Patrice Lumumba University was an institution that aimed to spread communism and Soviet ideals to third-world citizens and thus had contributed significantly to the Soviet Union’s soft power. Australia’s Colombo Plan and the European Union’s Erasmus+ Program are other examples of soft power practices in foreign policy and higher education (Gallarotti, 2022, p. 496).

On the other hand, the so-called International Branch Campuses (IBCs), which are based on the idea of Western universities opening campuses in other countries, can also be evaluated in the context of the relationship between soft power and higher education. The number of such campuses, particularly in countries such as Qatar, Dubai, and Singapore, exceeds 230 worldwide. The USA, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and Australia are at the forefront of opening branch campuses in other countries. In addition to Western countries, China, Malaysia, Chile, Mexico, Lebanon, Estonia, India, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Venezuela are among the countries that have opened international branch campuses. As mentioned earlier, Qatar, Dubai, and Singapore are also among the leading importers of such institutions (Wojcik, 2018, p. 345).

Meanwhile, the relationship between higher education and soft power is not only about the cultures, values, and policies of states but also about the structure of the international education system, which consists of international educational norms, rules, and institutions. For this reason, states must be able to create international norms and regulations (Li, 2018, p. 7). However, only education systems that meet the requirements of the innovative high-tech economy can create a center of attraction for international students and increase a country’s soft power. For this reason, the modernized and internationalized education systems include education systems that meet the modern economy’s basic requirements, as well as the requirements of innovative high technology, and are integrated into the international education field and the global scientific world (Ostashova, 2020, p. 260). Universities that have become centers of attraction for international students are at the top of international rankings. In addition, a country’s expenditures on education, research, and development and whether the distribution of these expenditures within the country is equal or not, as well as the number of students in the country, also cause universities to become centers of attraction for international students (Antonova et al., 2020, p. 34).

Internationalization of Higher Education

The impact of globalization in making higher education an essential tool for states in today’s international relations cannot be ignored. Still, Altbach (2004) indicated confusion exists between globalization and the internationalization of higher education. According to him, globalization should be defined as the broad economic, scientific, and technological trends that directly and inevitably affect higher education (Altbach, 2004, p. 5). Internationalization includes “specific policies and programs undertaken by governments, academic systems and institutions, and even individual departments or institutions to cope with or exploit globalization” (Altbach, 2004, p. 6).

The internationalization strategy in higher education is supported through specific rationales and motivations by governments and institutions that have an agenda. In a report on the internationalization of higher education prepared for the International Association of Universities in 2003, Knight categorized the reasons for internationalization under the following 12 headings in order of importance (Knight, 2003, p. 8):

  1. 1.

    Mobility and Exchanges for Students and Teachers

  2. 2.

    Teaching and Research Collaboration

  3. 3.

    Academic Standards and Quality

  4. 4.

    Research Projects

  5. 5.

    Co-operation and Development Assistance

  6. 6.

    Curriculum Development

  7. 7.

    International and Intercultural Understanding

  8. 8.

    Promotion and Profile of Institution

  9. 9.

    Diversify Sources of Faculty and Students

  10. 10.

    Regional Issues and Integration

  11. 11.

    International Student Recruitment

  12. 12.

    Diversify Income Generation

In addition, Qiang, one of the essential contributors to the relevant literature, divides the reasons for promoting and expanding the internationalization of higher education into four categories based on political, economic, academic, cultural, and social reasons (Qiang, 2003, pp. 252–254). The political rationale is mainly related to governments’ use of internationalization in higher education as a foreign policy instrument. In contrast, economic reasoning is associated with developing goals that will contribute positively to many areas, from access to competent human resources and international competition. The most important contribution of internationalization in the academic field is that it will positively affect the spread of an education system that meets international standards and increases the quality of education.

The internationalization of higher education is dominated by the goal of creating spheres of influence and making a profit. Even Altbach and Knight (2007, p. 293) argued making money to be the primary motivation for universities to prioritize the internationalization project. When considering the position and recognition of universities in international academia, especially in countries such as the USA, the UK, and Canada, these universities naturally pursue a profit-oriented internationalization strategy. In regions where a state-sponsored internationalization strategy is carried out, however, universities are observed to provide significant support to international students and even create the profile of a self-giving institution rather than a receiving/requesting institution. Altbach and Knight’s categorization of internationalization types is meaningful in this context. According to them, four different types of internationalization exist traditional internationalization, European-style internationalization, developing country internationalization, and individual internationalization (Altbach & Knight, 2007, pp. 293–294). The US universities fall into this category of traditional internationalization. Campus-based universities offer international students a new way of education and lifestyle and aim to introduce them to different cultures. On the other hand, the internationalization strategy of developing countries is more concerned with providing the visiting students with the culture and language of the host country and building a bridge or new sphere of influence.

Gulf Countries’ Vision for Internationalization in Higher Education

The advantages of internationalization in higher education regarding global politics and political economy are well known. Accordingly, Gulf countries in recent years have been developing a new vision to increase their effectiveness in international relations. In particular, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar’s steps toward internationalization in higher education have been remarkable. Among the Gulf monarchies, Saudi Arabia is the most prominent country in the region, having a unique internationalization vision and taking advantage of its status as a religious center. Meanwhile, the UAE and Qatar are trying to become alternatives for international students through the Western university campuses being opened, alongside the scholarships and opportunities they provide, and through implementing an aggressive internationalization strategy. Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman have a slower and more limited internationalization vision than the others (Table 1).

Table 1 Total inbound internationally mobile students in GCC countries
Full size table

The table illustrates the total inbound internationally mobile student figures for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from 2014 to 2022. The trend reflects a general increase in international student mobility across the region, with notable growth in Qatar and the UAE. Bahrain has maintained a relatively stable count, while Saudi Arabia exhibited substantial growth until 2019, followed by a decline in 2020 and 2021, possibly influenced by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Missing data points, especially for Kuwait, UAE, and Oman, limit the comprehensiveness of the analysis. The variations in student numbers among GCC nations highlight regional disparities, suggesting the importance of examining such factors as government policies and economic conditions for a more nuanced understanding of these trends. The number of international students tends to be higher in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have significant immigrant populations, due to immigrants’ relatives often contributing to an increase in these numbers. These countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are known for offering employment opportunities and economic growth and for attracting immigrants seeking a better life. Consequently, a sizable immigrant community contributes to a higher international student count, thus reflecting the diverse educational landscape in these nations.

While internationalization is a general trend in the Arab world, the Gulf countries are the region’s most politically, socially, and economically stable. The internationalization trend offers opportunities to be internationally recognized and integrated into the system and to closely follow global education systems and trends (Al-Agtash & Khadra, 2019, p. 69). As a result, a significant increase has occurred in the internationalization motivation of Gulf countries. In this framework, the internationalization visions of the Gulf countries in higher education should be considered individually and evaluated in this context.

Different strategies are applied in the Gulf countries in the context of the internationalization of higher education. For example, Saudi Arabia stands out in terms of student mobility due to its population advantage compared to other countries. While a large number of Saudi Arabian students study abroad, students from abroad similarly come to Saudi Arabia for education due to Saudi Arabia’s status as a religious center. Qatar and the UAE are accelerating their internationalization processes on the grounds of institutional mobility by allowing campuses of internationally recognized Western universities to open in their countries. Kuwait and Oman follow a partnership-based internationalization strategy in higher education by developing programs affiliated with universities abroad. On the other hand, Bahrain adopts an internationalization strategy within the scope of the twinning model based on the preference of having students complete part of their education in Bahrain and the rest of their education in the country where the contracted university is located (Vardhan, 2015, pp. 7–8).

Saudi Arabia

As the most significant power in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia is highly influential in global and regional politics. At the same time, the fact that two important centers of Islam are located in Saudi Arabia gives the country privileges in many respects. Due to its rich oil and gas reserves, strong economy, and status as a religious center, the Saudi government pays special attention to higher education. In fact, students from across the Muslim world for decades have been studying Islamic sciences in Saudi Arabia. In this context, religious education is an issue that needs to be addressed in the context of the early internationalization strategy of Saudi higher education. However, with the Saudi government’s new vision in global politics in recent years, it has pursued a very active strategy regarding higher education and has become even more prominent than other countries in the Gulf. In addition, Saudi Arabia’s support for English language education at the high school level and the development of special programs for high schools in this context should be considered to have accelerated the internationalization of higher education (Le Ha & Barnawi, 2015).

Alamri argued that, although many managers in higher education institutions in Saudi Arabia are internationally educated, bureaucracy poses obstacles to internationalization. The centralization of the system by the Ministry of Higher Education and its directive to all universities to act according to the policies set by the Ministry of Higher Education has created many problems in realizing the steps of internationalization (Alamri, 2011, p. 90). Despite the centralized and dominant character of the system, the country has made significant progress in internationalization in recent years. Indeed, the presence of only one Saudi Arabian university from the Arab world in the Most Internationalized Universities ranking published by Times Higher Education (THE) reflects the successful strategy the Saudi administration has pursued in this field. In THE ranking of the most internationalized universities for 2023, King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia ranks 24th (THE, 2023). When considering that the same university ranked 44th in the 2022 list, the internationalization efforts of Saudi Arabia’s administration and Ministry of Education can be said to have paid off.

The most important motivation for accelerating the internationalization strategy in Saudi Arabia has been the Saudi Vision 2030 announced and implemented by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam. Within the framework of this vision, an agenda of activities has been set regarding a wide range of fields, from economy, urbanization, environment, and industrial investments, to culture, arts, and increased scientific research. The Saudi Vision 2030 mainly emphasizes improving human capital in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Vision 2030’s Human Capacity Development Program (HCDP) emphasizes the mission of educational institutions in particular. The HCDP’s strategy is structured around three key pillars: strengthening the academic foundation, preparing for the future job market, and offering lifelong learning opportunities. Initiatives encompass expanding kindergartens, implementing career guidance, and providing upskilling and reskilling programs to enhance employability. The program also promotes entrepreneurship and innovation. By aligning educational outcomes with future labor market needs and localizing high-skilled jobs, HCDP aims to cultivate creative thinking and data analysis in the Saudi workforce, as well as technical, emotional, and social skills. The overarching vision aims to instill values such as moderation, tolerance, determination, perseverance, discipline, and mastery to foster a robust work culture, thereby elevating Saudi Arabia’s human capabilities and global competitiveness. The nation's ambitious human development goals include increasing kindergarten enrollment to 90% and positioning two Saudi universities among the world’s top 100 by 2030 (Saudi Vision 2030, 2023a, b).

The Saudi Ministry of Education is also seriously trying to internationalize higher education through international agreements and collaborations. The Ministry of Education’s approach to international agreements reflects a vision centered on a higher quality university education and high output on its website. This document states the Ministry of Education to be actively improving the education system by learning from global experiences and fostering collaboration between Saudi and international universities. This initiative aims to stay informed about global developments and to enhance academic, educational, and research capabilities through program and expertise exchanges, joint projects, and student programs. The ministry also organizes international exhibitions and conferences to address challenges, adopt educational technologies, and establish solid foundations for science and technology in education. This commitment is reflected in its implementation of joint academic and scientific programs that align with common goals and that address technology regarding educational needs (Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education, 2021).

As part of the Saudi Vision 2030, the Saudi government has set out to establish “a vibrant society, a thriving economy, [and] an ambitious nation” (Saudi Vision 2030, 2023a, b) and is trying to build a new country with this motto. Therefore, the internationalization of higher education is of primary importance for realizing this vision. The Saudi leadership meticulously implements the internationalization strategy regarding Saudi Arabia’s ability to create alternative spheres of influence other than energy in the globalized world and to diversify the tools it uses regarding interest maximization by developing its human capital. With the Saudi Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia as the largest country in the Gulf aims to take part in the global system more assertively and ambitiously, and its internationalization steps in higher education stand out compared to other countries, which is in line with the country’s vision for international relations and international economy in the coming years.

The UAE and Qatar

After Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar are the most active countries regarding the internationalization of higher education in the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia’s religiously privileged position and population advantage provide different opportunities for internationalization compared to the UAE and Qatar. However, the UAE and Qatar, the two rising powers of the Gulf in global politics and economics over the last two decades, have been developing policies in the context of a strategy for becoming an educational hub in internationalization. In this context, Education City in Doha, Knowledge Village in Dubai, and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi are essential indicators of Qatar and the UAE’s strategies of becoming educational hubs with campuses opened by international universities in the region. In this way, both countries are positioning themselves as centers of education, training, research, and innovation (World Bank, 2020, p. 18).

The role played the social and economic structures of the UAE and Qatar play in their different internationalization strategies compared to other countries should not be overlooked. The high level of prosperity and the multinational structure of both countries in terms of population make them especially preferred as places for international universities to open campuses. This also makes both countries particularly prominent regarding the mobility of international students (World Bank, 2020, p. 82).

Based on the UAE’s 2010 Strategic Vision Plan for Internationalization in Higher Education, the UAE government aimed to increase the capacity and quality of higher education by investing $1.3 billion USD by 2018, thereby enhancing research and collaboration among universities (Mahani & Molki, 2011, p. 5). True to this vision, the UAE government has taken steps in the following years to turn the UAE into an educational hub where many Western universities have opened campuses.

Similar to the UAE, Qatar is also becoming an essential base in the region through the steps it has taken in higher education within the framework of its vision over the past years. The scholarships the State of Qatar provides, in particular, as well as the opportunities provided to students by various institutions in Qatar (Qatar Ministry of Education & Higher Education, 2024), have played an essential role regarding international students’ preference for Qatar. In this context, Qatar has noteworthily attempted to attract students by paying from its budget rather than using commercial expectations and gains regarding Qatar’s vision for internationalizing higher education. The State of Qatar, which tries to guarantee student mobility in these ways, actively uses public and private universities in its territory as an element of soft power and has thus created a crucial competitive environment for educating qualified students.

Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain

The other Gulf states of Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain have pursued a less aggressive internationalization strategy compared to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar due to their position in regional politics and internal dynamics. With their declared visions to play a more active role in human and social development, these three countries have first sought to improve the quality of education in their own territories. In this respect, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman have tended to increase the level of education prior to internationalizing.

Bahrain aims to increase the quality and capacity of education within the framework of its Vision 2030 and to rank first in the Arab world regarding education quality (Bahrain Ministry of Education, 2024). Its Vision 2030 is built on three pillars: economy, governance, and society. Under the society theme, the focus is on developing a world-class education system to support and develop talented young people regarding their education and to improve performance and standards in educational institutions and universities. In addition, Bahrain has focused on teacher training, on creating new industries with quality education and advanced skills, on evaluating education for high quality and performance, and on improving the research process and programs at universities to develop a knowledge-based economy, in addition to efforts at improving employment (Mosly, 2022).

Increasing the educational capacity and training competent people for the required workforce are among the priorities in Kuwait. Still, the lack of diversity in the fields of study in higher institutions in the country is a relative obstacle to the development of higher education (Al-Shammari, 2022, p. 44). Strategies for economic diversification, social progress, and sustainable growth drive Kuwait’s Vision 2035. Through the Kuwait Schools Development Program (KSDP), nine school projects have been implemented in the vicinity of Kuwait City with a capacity of 4350 students. Kuwait also aims to add more than 13 institutions, including schools, colleges, and universities, as well as add more than 40,000 students (Kuwait Vision 2035: New Kuwait, 2017; Mosly, 2022). Moreover, even if Kuwait has a vision to internationalize higher education through government scholarships and some foreign university campuses, it has been slower than Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar in this regard, given its economic power.

Oman’s Ministry of Higher Education has also stated its primary goal to be improving the quality of education, achieving international standards, and building a more efficient higher education system within this framework (Oman Ministry of Higher Education, 2024). In its 2040 vision, Oman has included issues such as using national and international standards to develop its education ecosystem, establishing an independent and integrated higher education management and curriculum, and gaining a quality education system based on social collaborations in education, training, national capabilities, and scientific research. Oman also aims to be among the top 10 best-performing education countries by 2040 (Mosly, 2022; Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit, 2023).

Conclusion

Developments in global politics and structural transformations in international political economy have accelerated the internationalization trends in higher education, and new motivations have led countries to determine specific strategies in this field. Internationalization in higher education has enabled states to increase their sphere of influence in the international arena and begun to occupy more space in the basic strategies of states compared to previous decades. In particular, assertive actors who want to strengthen their position in global politics are paying more attention to this field and consider higher education an important soft power factor.

In recent years, Gulf countries have also been diversifying their policies to gain a more influential position in international relations. In this context, a serious trend is seen to be present in the Gulf regarding the internationalization of higher education, with serious investments having been made in this field. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar stand out with regard to the steps they are taking. In the Gulf countries’ higher education strategies, providing opportunities to international students to create a sphere of influence has been more predominant than pursuing commercial profit. While Saudi Arabia with its advantage of being a religious center has approached internationalization in higher education with a religious mission motivation, the UAE and Qatar have aimed to gain an international reputation by becoming educational hubs in the region. As relatively secondary powers in the area, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman are pursuing a calmer and more future-oriented higher education strategy than the previous other three countries.