The objective of this theoretical essay is to propose a critical and reflective analysis of the phenomenon of the internationalization of higher education, based on structural concepts associated with globalization, (counter)hegemony and (de)coloniality. The following arguments structure the text: 1. Since higher education is a relational field of power, composed of concomitantly competitive and cooperative networks and relationships, and permeated by binding economic influences, internationalization of higher education resents a delimitation that effectively contextualizes it; 2. Inequalities underlying North-South relations manifest in the field of internationalization of higher education, including in South-South relations, and ratify the exercise of relational and economic power; and 3. The internationalization phenomenon of higher education is ontological and epistemologically immersed in the cultural matrix of colonial power and operates under the foundation of a dominant global imaginary. The study suggests that theoretical references tend to conceive the concepts inherent to globalization, (counter)hegemony and (de)coloniality in a dichotomous way, without considering the hybrid, conflicting and complex reality of higher education and internationalization.
Keywords:
Higher Education; Internationalization; Globalization; Hegemony; Coloniality