How Does the “Peripheral” Become “Central”? Transnational Education Intermediaries and the Reconfiguration of Power Structures in the Internationalization of Global Higher Education

Abstract

In the process of higher education globalization, transnational education intermediaries are commonly understood as functional actors that connect universities and students, occupying a relatively peripheral position within global educational mobility structures. While existing studies have predominantly examined their market behaviors at micro or case-based levels, this paper adopts a macro-theoretical perspective to explore how these intermediaries reshape their roles within specific institutional and power configurations. Integrating Bourdieu’s field theory with Foucault’s discourse–power framework, the study constructs an analytical model of “field–discourse–legitimacy” and introduces the concept of peripheral adaptation to explain how intermediaries, within the context of Commonwealth–China higher education cooperation, engage in differentiated discursive practices toward multiple power actors to facilitate capital conversion and legitimacy construction. The findings suggest that intermediary discourse should not be regarded merely as commercial expression; rather, it constitutes an institutionalized practice embedded within global knowledge–power structures. The relative movement from “periphery” to “center” reflects the growing participation and influence of non-state actors in the governance architecture of international higher education.