Mapping cosmopolitan nationalism in educational research: a literature review

This paper presents a literature review of the emerging concept of cosmopolitan nationalism (CN) within educational scholarship. CN captures the complex and often paradoxical coexistence of cosmopolitan ideals, such as global citizenship and cultural openness, and nationalist commitments to local identity, social cohesion, and national development. Through an analysis of 20 education-specific studies, this paper traces CN’s interdisciplinary roots in cosmopolitanism and nationalism, highlights key thematic and methodological trends, and identifies geographical and contextual variations, notably the prominence of Chinese international education settings. The review highlights ongoing tensions between descriptive and prescriptive uses of CN, the conceptual ambiguity surrounding its definitional boundaries, and the challenges posed by neoliberal and postcolonial critiques. We argue that CN offers a distinctive analytical framework capable of capturing the dynamic interplay between global and national approaches at multiple social levels. To advance CN scholarship, we propose clearer conceptual boundaries, interdisciplinary engagement, methodological diversification, and critical attention to power asymmetries and ethical implications. Ultimately, this review paper positions cosmopolitan nationalism as a vital lens for understanding how education systems navigate globalisation’s pressures whilst sustaining national identities, offering possibilities for more nuanced analyses of educational policies and practices.