Intermediary Bodies in Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

This paper examines the establishment of intermediary, or "buffer", bodies in the higher education systems of the post-communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. It argues that this process was driven significantly by the major multilateral aid organisations, without detailed analysis of the way the proposed structures would operate, or of alternative ways of achieving the desired outcomes. Analogies drawn with Western models - a frequent approach by aid agencies - are unsatisfactory in different cultural settings: particularly, the transitional nature of societies in these countries (neither communist dictatorships nor Western democracies) was not sufficiently taken into account. The paper goes on to analyse the pattern of development of intermediary bodies in two countries, Hungary and Romania, with comparisons with Western Europe. It examines an attempt at explaining reasons for their rapid development in the quality assurance field, and finds that the empirical evidence does not support the argument. An alternative hypothesis is put forward, suggesting that the development of intermediary bodies can be at least partially explained by reference to the extent to which they allow central involvement in institutional decision-making: the opposite of stated intentions for them, but showing continuity from the structures of the communist regimes.