| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
How is the concept of internationalisation (kokusaika) operationalised by Japanese universities? I address this question by examining one university's engagement with the residents of its international student accommodation facility, 'Global House'. I argue that the distinctive combination of benevolence and authoritarianism characterising the university's management of Global House, a combination termed 'paternalism' in this article, can be understood by reference to the obligations assumed by the university as part of its internationalisation agenda. International student presence must be managed strategically because such students are perceived by their universities as both assets and liabilities, and both constituents and externalities. An appreciation of these competing pressures helps to demystify paternalist approaches to international student management observed in Global House. Paternalism appears at first glance to be a dysfunction of the internationalisation process, but it is better understood as an organisational context for the performance thereof. I use this analysis to argue the need to build a stronger conception of the university as a principal protagonist in, rather than simply an object of, internationalisation. This discussion also highlights the importance of developing alternative accounts of internationalisation-ones that are focused more on contextualised descriptions than prescriptive definitions.
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