Journal articles and special issues
Books and book chapters
UNESCO reports as first author/project leader
Knowledge mobilization (reports, non-peer reviewed essays, think pieces, blog posts, and other audio/visual outputs)
Book and article reviews

Notes: For publications with multiple authors, * indicates I was the lead author/project leader and ** indicates equal co-authorship. Publications may appear under my previous name Emma Sabzalieva. Most of my publications are open access, but if you’re not able to access a publication, please contact me


Journal articles and special issues (peer reviewed)

**Co-editor of special issue The new geopolitics of higher education (with Hannah Moscovitz). Globalisation, Societies and Education, 21(2), 2023.

*The impact of self-regulation in the governance of European higher education systems on quality and equity (with Jaime Roser and Takudzwa Mutize). Hungarian Educational Research Journal, 13(1), 23-46, 2023.

**Co-editor of special issue Achieving mutually inclusive internationalization of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean (with Francesc Pedró), Revista Educación Superior y Sociedad (Higher Education and Society), 34(1), 2022.

  • Includes my introductory article, Introduction to Dossier B. Revista Educación Superior y Sociedad (Higher Education and Society), 34(1), 390-396, 2022.

*Ideal immigrants in name only? Shifting constructions and divergent discourses on the international student-immigration policy nexus in Australia, Canada, and Germany (with Amira El Masri, Anumoni Joshi, Melissa Laufer, Roopa Trilokekar Desai and Christina Hass). Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 6(2), 178-204, 2022.

Surviving a crisis: Transformation, adaptation, and resistance in higher education. Higher Education Governance and Policy, 3(1), 1-15, 2022.

**Faculty Experiences of Higher Education Internationalization in Post-Conflict Iraq and Tajikistan (with Hayfa Jafar). Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education 14(2), Article 2, 2022.

**Co-editor of special issue Emerging Issues in the Internationalization of Canadian Higher Education (with Creso Sá). Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 50(4), 2021.

*Science Diplomacy Policy Processes in Comparative Perspective: The Use of Scientific Cooperation Agreements in Canada, India, Norway, and the UK (with Creso Sá, Magdalena Martinez and Nadiia Kachynska). Minerva, 59(2), 149-172, 2021.

**Constructing a Eurasian higher education region: “Points of correspondence” between Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union and China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia (with Natalia Leskina). Eurasian Geography and Economics, 62(5-6), 716-744, 2021.

Gender Gaps in Research Productivity and Recognition among Elite Scientists in the U.S., Canada, and South Africa (with Creso Sá, Summer Cowley, Magdalena Martinez and Nadiia Kachynska). PLOS ONE, 15(10): e0240903, 2020.

**Dealing with disruption, rethinking recovery: Policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in higher education (with Amira El Masri). Policy Design and Practice, 3(3), 312-333, 2020.

*Co-editor of special issue Moving Beyond “North” and “South”: Global Perspectives on International Research Collaborations (with Magdalena Martinez and Creso Sá). Journal of Studies in International Education, 24(1), 2020.

The politics of the great brain race: Public policy and international student recruitment in Australia, Canada, England and the USA (with Creso Sá). Higher Education 75(2), 231-253, 2018.

The policy challenges of creating a world-class university outside the global ‘core’. European Journal of Higher Education 7(4), 424-439, 2017.

Engaging with tradition? How history shapes engagement with local communities in universities in England and Ontario, Canada. Comparative and International Education, 45(3), Article 8, 2016

Challenges in contemporary higher education in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 19(2), 49-55, 2015.

Understanding universities’ responsibilities to their wider communities. Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 16(4), 123-128, 2012.


Books and book chapters (peer reviewed)

From Policy Design to Lived Experiences: Developing University Research Capacity in Tajikistan Since 1991. In M. Chankseliani, I. Fedyukin, & I. Frumin (Eds.), Building Research Capacity at Universities: Insights from Post-Soviet Countries (263–283). Springer International Publishing.

Unfolding Approaches to University Rankings in Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Europe, and Latin America (with Creso Sá, Nadiia Kachynska, & Magdalena Martinez. In M. Stack (Ed.), Global University Rankings and the Politics of Knowledge (50–73). University of Toronto Press, 2021.

Emerging global players? Building international legitimacy in universities in Estonia and Kazakhstan (with Merli Tamtik). In Chankseliani, M. & Silova, I. (Eds.), Post-Socialist Transformations: Purposes, Policies, and Practices in Education. Oxford: Symposium Books, 127-145, 2018.

Scientific nationalism in a globalizing world (with Creso Sá). In Cantwell, B., Coates, H. & King, R. (Eds.), Handbook on the Politics of Higher Education. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2018.

**Managing your career in higher education administration (with Michelle Gander and Heather Moyes). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.


UNESCO reports

All available in English/Spanish + other languages as indicated.

*Transforming the digital landscape of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean (2024)

*Harnessing the era of artificial intelligence in higher education: A primer for higher education stakeholders (2023)

*ChatGPT and artificial intelligence in higher education: Quick start guide (2023) – Also available in Portuguese and Russian.

*The right to higher education: A social justice perspective (2022)

*Moving minds: Opportunities and challenges for virtual student mobility in a post-pandemic world (2022)

*Resuming or reforming? Tracking the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education after two years of disruption (2022)

*The higher education we want: Youth voices on the futures of higher education (2022)

*Pathways to 2050 and beyond: Findings from a public consultation on the futures of higher education (2021)

*Thinking higher and beyond: Perspectives on the futures of higher education to 2050 (2021)

*Self-regulation in the governance of the higher education sector: International trends, challenges, and opportunities (2021)


Knowledge mobilization

On the former Soviet space

Policy brief – Going the distance: Readiness for digitalization and distance education in Tajikistan, March 2024.

Policy brief – Innovations and challenges in distance education and the prospects for post-pandemic digital transformation: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan, 2024.

Serving students and society: Transformation of ex-Soviet higher education systems (with Dana Abdrasheva). International Higher Education, Spring 2023.

Higher education on hold at home, students stranded abroad (with Dana Abdrasheva). University World News, January 2022.

Interview, Educating Central Asia, From Soviet Collapse to COVID-19 (with Vasila Bozhichaeva). The Diplomat, October 2020.

Higher Education Policy in Central Asia and Afghanistan / Политика в сфере высшего образования в Центральной Азии и Афганистане. Working Paper #51. Bishkek: University of Central Asia, May 2019.

Regionalism in Higher Education. Guest editor of a collection of 12 short essays on regionalism in the former Soviet space. Higher Education in Russia & Beyond, April 2019.

Fake dissertation scandal taints politicians, academics. University World News, April 2018.

Shaping the idea of the world-class university from outside the global “core”. Europe of Knowledge, February 2018.

Transformations in higher education in Eurasia. Webinar, Eurasia Special Interest Group of the Comparative & International Education Society, January 2018. Invited panellist (my presentation starts at minute 30).

Who are Tajikistan’s international students? Higher Education in Russia and Beyond, June 2017.

The darker side of international recruitment. University World News, March 2017.

Gender gaps in higher education across Central Asia. Invited commentary for University World News, July 2016.

The dominance of social sciences in English-medium instruction universities in Central Asia. Higher Education in Russia and Beyond, 3(5), pp.13-15, September 2015.

From wandering scholars to strategic partnerships: the experience of British universities in Central Asia. Perspectives on Central Asia, 4, pp.11-15, 2014.

http://emmahardenwolfson.com. My blog on higher education in Central Asia! Recommended by The Guardian as a top social media account for academics (2016). Active since 2011.

On the UK, Canada, and other settings

ChatGPT might be able to write your essay, but what if you can’t even access it? Inequalities in the adoption of Generative AI in higher education. NORRAG Policy Insights #04 AI and Digital Inequities, March 2024.

Public goods, common goods and global common goods: A brief explanation (with José Antonio Quinteiro). UNESCO IESALC blog, April 2022.

The Future University in the Eyes of Today’s Students (with Diana Morales and Dana Abdrasheva). International Higher Education, 109, pp.11-12, Winter 2022.

The new geopolitics of international higher education (with Hannah Moscovitz and Lisa Brunner). University World News, June 2021.

The impact of the digital divide on student mobility (with Bosen Lily Liu and Takudzwa Mutize). University World News, May 2021.

Shaping Sustainable Futures: A conference on internationalization in higher education. Early Career Higher Education Researchers blog, January 2019.

The importance of the youth vote in the UK: Keeping higher education on the political agenda [despite Brexit] (with Andrew Gunn). Canadian and International Higher Education blog, October 2017.

When politics gets unpredictable: What happens now for higher education in the UK? Invited think piece for Canadian and International Higher Education blog, April 2017.

Populism and the academy: On the wrong side of history? Worldviews Lecture 2017, University of Toronto, Canada, April 2017. Invited panellist. Watch a recording of the lecture and panel discussion and read a write-up of the event on University World News.

Canadian universities get political (with Grace Karram Stephenson). Canadian and International Higher Education blog, March 2017.

How Brexit matters to higher education beyond Europe. University World News, July 2016.

What to expect from the British white paper on higher education. Invited essay for Canadian and International Higher Education blog, May 2016.

Public policy and the attraction of international students (with Creso Sá). Report for Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, March 2016.


Book and article reviews

Article review: Educational research in Central Asia: methodological and ethical dilemmas in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Published on my website, September 2019.

Book review: 25 Years of Transformations of Higher Education Systems in Post-Soviet Countries: Reform and Continuity. European Journal of Higher Education, published online Nov 2018. My review is free to download here.

Book review: Research, Ethics and Risk in the Authoritarian Field. Published on my website, March 2018.

Article review: Reverse flow in academic mobility from core to periphery: motivations of international faculty working in Kazakhstan. Published on my website, December 2017.

Article review: Problems of forming tolerance in the educational environment of Tajikistan. Published on my website, May 2017.