University of Lisbon

Comparatism in education: sociological approach or mode of governance?

“We are all comparatists”. This slogan is worth noting, especially in Europe, at a time when international indicators or databases are used for the benchmarking of “good practice” across different countries.

Nowadays we cannot understand political discourse and the forms of state intervention unless we are aware of the emergence of “permanent comparatism”, one of the most powerful tools of new modes of governance.

It is therefore necessary to distinguish comparatism as an academic discipline from comparatism as tool for policy-making. The purpose is not to artificially oppose knowledge and power but to emphasise the significance of new “action discourse”, especially as part of the European construction process.