Let us make experts in our image : The European Commission and higher education policies

This article analyzes the expansion strategies of the European Commission in the higher education (HE) field, focusing on its relationship with the organizations representing different segments of European academia (universities, students, quality assurance agencies) within the Bologna Process. It investigates the conditions under which these organizations were created and championed and shows how the Commission promotes the emergence of a Europeanized expertise on HE through the funding it offers. Beyond common sense ideas on cooperation and convergence in HE, I analyze the power relations in this transnational field and the way in which recurrent criticisms are played down and dodged. By highlighting the trajectories and practices of the members of these groups, this article sheds new light on their contribution to HE policy-making in Europe.