Policy Borrowing: Formulating Contested Higher Education Policies in Bangladesh

While reference societies as an “externalization” process are often used to justify borrowing policies from abroad, a concerted attempt to understand how “power” influences this process, particularly regarding “semiperipheral” references to the periphery, remains absent. This article explores the externalization process in the formulation of higher education (HE) policy in Bangladesh. Using a qualitative approach, it employs thematic analysis of interviews with ten state-level policy actors. Drawing on the concept of “coloniality of knowledge,” the article examines the microprocess of using localized reference points from nearby Asian countries to justify adopting contested neoliberal ideas in Bangladesh. I identify this process as one of advancing semiperipheral references to garner support for contested ideas in postcolonial contexts. The use of a coloniality framework within the dynamics of semiperipheral references adds complexity to the concept of “externalization” and enhances the understanding of how ideas travel and are justified in different policy.