Turbulence and Bifurcation in North–South Higher-Education Partnerships for Research and Sustainable Development

The article analyzes processes and objectives of transnational higher-education partnerships (THEPs) devoted to research and
sustainable development by applying concepts and insights from chaos theory, Rosenau’s work on turbulence, Farazmand’s contributions
on institutionalized chaos and the management of cascading crises, and the transnational-competence framework. The bifurcation
of research and development activity into asymmetrical and symmetrical processes and objectives provides the focus for analysis.
Building on Farazmand’s insight regarding the positive possibilities of transformative change, the conclusion explores possibilities
for amplifying the symmetrical trajectory. Given the structural forces of global capitalism and local political constraints,
the range of symmetrical process- and outcome-path possibilities for THEPs is now bounded by the strange attractors of resource
inequalities and collaborative decision making.