Power imbalances: Inequality in international exchange:The UK and Thailand as example

Student mobility through bilateral exchange agreements between institutions plays an increasing role in university internationalization agendas, but what this means in practice varies across institution types and around the world. These agreements, most often between a university in a ‘developed’ English speaking country, and one in a ‘developing’ non-English speaking country highlight disparities in funding, access, and responsibility, leading to concerns about their place and their impact on not just higher education, but global systems. This chapter will explore these realities by taking a case-study approach looking at two partner institutions, one in the UK and one in Thailand, and considering their internationalization programs, similarities and differences between them and their subsequent impact. We investigate to what extent arrangements such as these are ethical, and we will conclude our chapter with a summary of the implications and pitfalls of such programs, with particular focus on the responsibilities of Western universities to contribute to having meaningful, equal collaborations to support the internationalization of higher education.