Recent scholarship is shedding new light on longstanding imbalances in European higher education, particularly through the lens of how Western institutions maintain dominance in research funding and collaboration networks. A 2023 paper by Tamas Dezso Ziegler and Anna Unger, titled "Eurowhiteness in Science: Privilege Escalation and Intentional Sludge," draws on József Böröcz's concept of Eurowhiteness to examine how ostensibly neutral administrative processes in EU research programmes function as mechanisms of exclusion.
Understanding Eurowhiteness in the Academic Context
Eurowhiteness, as developed in broader European studies, refers to the ways in which European identity and institutions are implicitly framed around norms associated with Western European experiences, often marginalising perspectives from Eastern Europe or beyond. In the realm of science and higher education, this manifests not through overt discrimination but through structural advantages that compound over time. The Ziegler and Unger analysis highlights how Western European universities and research centres benefit from established networks, familiarity with complex application procedures, and repeated success in securing grants from programmes such as Horizon Europe and its predecessors.
This dynamic creates what the authors term "privilege escalation," where prior advantages in funding and infrastructure translate into further dominance. Eastern European institutions, despite participation in widening measures designed to promote inclusion, continue to face disproportionate hurdles. The result is a funding landscape where the same leading Western organisations receive the bulk of resources year after year.
The Role of Intentional Sludge in Funding Allocation
A central contribution of the research is its application of Cass Sunstein's concept of "sludge"—bureaucratic friction that complicates access to public services—to EU research funding. The authors argue that certain administrative requirements are not merely inefficient but intentionally burdensome in ways that preserve existing power structures. Overly complex proposal formats, extensive documentation demands, and multi-layered evaluation processes create barriers that institutions with fewer administrative resources struggle to overcome.
Access to major EU grants is described as hidden behind layers of sludge. This setup means that countries or institutions outside the core Western networks find it significantly harder to compete effectively. Data from Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes illustrate the pattern: while widening countries have seen modest increases in participation shares, the majority of funding still flows to a concentrated group of Western European beneficiaries. Success rates and per-researcher funding allocations reveal persistent regional disparities, with Northern and Central European "blue banana" regions maintaining strong positions.
East-West Divides in European Research and Innovation
The East-West dimension of these imbalances has been the subject of ongoing debate in European policy circles. Analyses of EU framework programmes consistently show that Eastern member states receive a smaller share of competitive research funding relative to their research personnel and national R&D investment levels. While cohesion policies and dedicated widening instruments aim to address convergence, the competitive pillar of programmes like Horizon Europe continues to favour institutions with greater prior experience and capacity.
Stakeholders from Eastern European universities often point to the cumulative effect of historical underinvestment in research infrastructure combined with the administrative load of international grant applications. Western institutions, by contrast, benefit from economies of scale in grant writing, established consortia, and alignment with dominant evaluation criteria. The research suggests these patterns amount to a form of territorial gatekeeping embedded in the funding architecture itself.
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Implications for European Higher Education Institutions
The findings carry significant consequences for universities across the continent. For institutions in widening countries, persistent underfunding limits their ability to attract and retain talent, invest in cutting-edge facilities, and participate fully in collaborative networks. This can exacerbate brain drain as researchers seek opportunities in better-resourced Western centres.
Western European universities, while benefiting in the short term, face longer-term risks to the overall diversity and resilience of the European research ecosystem. Reduced input from Eastern perspectives may narrow the range of research questions prioritised and limit innovation potential in areas where regional knowledge is valuable. The paper underscores that true internationalisation requires more than rhetoric about openness; it demands structural reforms to funding mechanisms.
Stakeholder Perspectives and Policy Responses
Discussions around these issues involve voices from across the European higher education sector. Representatives of Eastern institutions have called for simplified procedures and targeted capacity-building support to level the playing field. Western leaders often emphasise the need for excellence-based allocation while acknowledging the value of broader participation.
Policy initiatives such as the European Research Area and specific Horizon Europe widening actions represent attempts to mitigate divides. However, the research indicates that without addressing the underlying sludge in application and evaluation processes, these measures may achieve only incremental progress. Simplifying administrative requirements and providing dedicated support for proposal development in under-represented regions are among the practical steps suggested.
Broader Context: Eurowhiteness and European Identity
The academic analysis connects to wider debates on European identity, as explored in works such as Hans Kundnani's "Eurowhiteness: Culture, Empire and Race in the European Project." These discussions highlight how narratives of European integration can inadvertently centre Western experiences while downplaying colonial legacies or Eastern European specificities. In higher education, this translates into institutional cultures and funding priorities that reflect similar assumptions.
The intersection of these cultural and structural factors creates a self-reinforcing cycle. Funding success reinforces prestige, which in turn attracts further resources and talent, widening the gap over successive programme cycles.
Future Outlook and Potential Reforms
Looking ahead, the European higher education sector faces pressure to reconcile excellence with inclusion. Horizon Europe and future framework programmes will continue to grapple with these tensions. Proposals for reform include greater use of two-stage evaluation processes, enhanced pre-submission support, and metrics that account for institutional starting points rather than solely final outputs.
Success will depend on sustained commitment from the European Commission, national governments, and university associations. Greater transparency in funding distribution data and regular independent audits of administrative burdens could help identify and reduce unintended gatekeeping effects.
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Actionable Insights for Academics and Administrators
Researchers and university leaders can take practical steps to navigate and challenge these dynamics. Building consortia that genuinely include partners from widening countries, investing in grant-writing capacity, and advocating for procedural simplifications at the European level are immediate options. At the institutional level, auditing internal processes for unnecessary complexity can improve competitiveness.
For those seeking opportunities, monitoring calls with specific widening or widening participation elements remains important. Cross-border collaborations that address shared regional challenges can also strengthen proposals while contributing to a more balanced European research landscape.