Internationalization of Higher Education in Kyrgyzstan: Institutional Barriers, Legal Hybridity, and Policy Implications from the TuCAHEA Project

The internationalization of higher education has become a strategic imperative for post-Soviet countries in Central Asia. This article examines the implementation of the "Tuning Central Asian Higher Education Area" (TuCAHEA) project in Kyrgyzstan, aimed at aligning local curricula with the Bologna Process. Using qualitative document analysis underpinned by "Institutional Logics" theory, this study investigates the friction between European standards (ECTS, learning outcomes) and the Soviet-legacy regulatory framework. The analysis of recent legislative documents reveals three systemic barriers: (1) structural incompatibility between rigid State Educational Standards (Gosstandart) and flexible credit systems; (2) bureaucratic recentralization that undermines university autonomy; and (3) a state of "institutional hybridity," where neoliberal reforms are layered atop persistent Soviet administrative practices. Without legal harmonization and funding reform, internationalization will remain superficial. Policy recommendations are offered to bridge the gap between legislative intent and institutional reality.