Nation states have traditionally played central roles in the governance of higher education policies, but in recent decades the world’s regions and organizations are seen to be increasingly involved in this process. The rise of this phenomenon that we depict as ‘higher education regionalism’ is related to two different dynamics: (1) the renewal of regional cooperation — in all fields — following the emergence of a multipolar world since the end of Cold War and (2) the international competition to transition towards ‘knowledge-based’ economies and the role that research and higher education sectors play in this process.