The Bologna Process as a hegemonic tool of Normative Power Europe (NPE)

The scenario of Latin America in the higher education area, especially in Chile and Mexico, appears to be significantly affected by some European influences. We can see this by examining the implementation of two ‘hegemonic tools’: the Bologna Process and the Tuning Project. This paper argues that if we analyse the European influences as a normative power (NPE) on the construction of a common space in higher education in Chile and Mexico, the hegemonic process may, perhaps, prove to be focused on an ‘alternative imperialism’, based on Eurocentric discourse, which could also be called a ‘post‐colonialist’ strategy. This article will seek to show that European influences, exercised by the EU operating as a normative power, are only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of the hegemonic process. The paper is divided into five parts: following the introduction, a general overview of the Bologna Process opens the discussion of questions of American or European hegemony. After that, I analyse NPE and the ‘ontological quality’ of the EU as a hegemonic power. The empirical cases of European influences, on Chilean and Mexican HE, are analysed in detail in order to show the most significant impacts on their public and university policies. Finally, I offer a view of the Bologna Process as a ‘European hegemonic instrument’ of NPE.