The Interplay of Policy and Practice on Europeanisation in the Context of the European Universities Initiative

• Published date: 01 June 2026
• Author: Barbara Curyło,Alexander Frame,Maija-Kaisa Hirvonen,Robert Geisler
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/cep4.70037
• Section: Research Article

Contemporary European Politics

RESEARCH ARTICLE

The Interplay of Policy and Practice on Europeanisation

in the Context of the European Universities Initiative

Barbara Curyło

1

| Alexander Frame

2

| Maija‐Kaisa Hirvonen

2

| Robert Geisler

1

1

Institute of Political Science and Administration, University of Opole, Opole, Poland |

2

Department of Communication, University of Burgundy, Dijon,

France

Correspondence: Barbara Curyło (bcurylo@uni.opole.pl)

Received: 2 September 2025 | Revised: 26 March 2026 | Accepted: 27 March 2026

Keywords: European universities initiative | FORTHEM alliance | paradiplomacy | science diplomacy | subnational Europeanisation

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how Europeanisation unfolds within European University Alliances (EUAs) by analysing the interplay

between EU‐level policy frameworks and locally embedded academic practices. It advances a conceptually integrated approach

situated at the intersection of European integration studies, international relations and higher education research, with the

primary aim of explaining how Europeanisation is produced and practised at the subnational level rather than merely assessing

policy implementation outcomes. The paper rests on a three‐part conceptual framework combining subnational Europeani-

sation, paradiplomacy and science diplomacy, and explicitly links these perspectives to concrete organisational mechanisms

within EUAs: knowledge‐creating teams (KCTs). Subnational Europeanisation provides the overarching analytical lens, con-

ceptualising universities as subnational actors through which European norms, values and governance logics are interpreted

and institutionalised. Paradiplomacy specifies the mode of agency exercised by universities, capturing their capacity to initiate

and govern transnational cooperation. Science diplomacy, in turn, explains the functional logic through which academic

collaboration serves simultaneously epistemic, relational and integrative purposes. In conclusion, KCT structures are examined

as sites where EU policy objectives are translated into locally embedded practices (vertical Europeanisation) while also enabling

peer‐to‐peer learning, norm diffusion and institutional convergence across borders (horizontal Europeanisation). The analysis

demonstrates that Europeanisation within EUAs is not a linear process of policy transmission but a negotiated, uneven process

shaped by institutional capacities, power asymmetries and strategic interpretation. By systematically connecting the conceptual

framework to specific organisational mechanisms, the paper contributes to the analytical relevance of paradiplomacy and

science diplomacy to Europeanisation research, and positions EUAs as active arenas—rather than passive instruments—of

European integration in higher education.

1 | Introduction

Europeanisation, as a multidimensional process, has become a

defining feature of higher education in the European Union

(EU). It entails the gradual alignment of national and institu-

tional practices with EU‐level norms, values and policy agen-

das. In this context, the European Universities Initiative (EUI),

launched in 2019, stands as one of the most ambitious instru-

ments for fostering deep institutional cooperation across

borders (Frame and Curyło 2025). It aims to create trans-

national alliances of higher education institutions that collab-

orate on teaching, research and innovation. Europeanisation in

higher education refers to the diffusion of European norms,

values and standards into national systems and institutions,

often resulting in convergence in governance, curricula,

mobility structures and so forth (Corbett 2006; Zuba 2025). It is

both a top‐down and bottom‐up process: while driven by

supranational policy instruments such as the Bologna Process

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any

medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

© 2026 The Author(s). Contemporary European Politics published by University Association of Contemporary European Studies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

1 of 11 Contemporary European Politics, 2026; 4:e70037

https://doi.org/10.1002/cep4.70037