The first panel seeks to provide to a better conceptualization of the politics of institutional continuity and change in European higher education. It reflects on the relative importance of different actors for such outcomes as tuition fee regimes and governance structures. What are actors’ motives, and how do they seek to influence policymaking? How do governments position themselves in global trends toward increased educational attainment? How do state structures affect capacities for cooperation in higher education provision and workers’ integration into labor markets?