1. The World-class University in Different Systems and Contexts; J.C. Shin and B.M. Kehm -- Part A. Background of WCU Worldwide -- 2. The World-class University: Concept and Policy Initiatives; J. C. Shin -- 3. The Global Research and the ‘World-class’ Universities; W. Ma -- 4. World-class Universities: The Sector Requirements; S. Heyneman and J. Lee -- 5. Nation-states, Educational Traditions and the WCU Project; S. Marginson -- Part B. WCUs in non-English Speaking Advanced Systems -- 6. To Be or Not to Be? The Impacts of the Excellence Initiative on the German System of Higher Education; B.M. Kehm -- 7.  Reconciling Republican ‘Egalité’ and Global Excellence Values in French Higher Education; L. Cremonini, P. Benneworth, F. Westerheijden and H. Dauncey -- 8. Challenges for Top Japanese Universities when Establishing a New Global Identity: Seeking a New Paradigm after “World Class”; A. Yonezawa -- Part C. WCUs in non-English Speaking Developing Systems -- 9. World-class University in Korea: Proactive Government, Responsive University, and Procrastinating Academics; J.C. Shin and Y.S. Jang -- 10. Building a World-class University in China; Y. Luo -- 11. The Challenges for Establishing World-class Universities in Taiwan; D. Chang -- Part D. WCUs in English Speaking Developing Systems -- 12. Malaysia’s World-class University Ambition: An Assessment; M. Sirat -- 13. Peering through the dust of construction: Singapore’s efforts to build WCUs; K.C. Ho -- 14. Frameworks for Creating Research Universities: The Hong Kong Case; G. Postiglione and J. Jung -- Conclusion -- 15. Universalizing the University in a World Society; F.O. Ramirez and J.W. Meyer -- 16. World-class University across Higher Education systems: Similarities, Differences, and Challenges; J.C. Shin and B.M. Kehm. - Index.

Moving the academic debate on from its current focus on development to a more nuanced sociological perspective, this fresh research is a collaboration between academics in Asia and Europe that assesses the factors shaping world-class universities as institutional social systems as well as national cultural treasures. The work explores in detail how WCUs have moved to a central position in policy circles, and how these often ambitious government policies on WCUs have been interpreted and adopted by university administrators and individual professors. The authors provide a wealth of empirical data on universities, both world-class and aiming for WCU status, in a range of politics and continents. They compare strategies for developing WCUs in countries of the East and the West, both developing and developed. Nations featured in the statistical purview include nine countries (Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong SAR). The volume goes further than merely taking a snapshot of the current situation, offering detailed and considered strategies and rationales for institutionalizing and developing WCUs, particularly in Asian countries where Confucian cultural influences accord education the highest priority.