The prospect of an academic writing a book about the politics of education, indeed one with a chapter on higher education, might appear rather solipsistic. While the reader will be the best judge of the book's merits, I hope that I have avoided most of the perils of navel gazing. To the degree that I have achieved this ambition, thanks must go to the many people, both inside and outside academia, who have provided support and comfort along the way.

I would like to begin by thanking the most critical academic influences on this project: my dissertation committee. While this book has been subject to countless iterations and revisions since its genesis as my Ph.D. dissertation, many of the ideas and empirical analyses contained within date from that project and, consequently, owe a great deal to my advisors. Beth Simmons, an advisor at both Berkeley and Harvard, was a constant source of advice and support. Beth first sparked my interest in the connection between international and comparative political economy, and her extensive notes and comments were essential in honing and focusing my ideas. Torben Iversen has been the greatest intellectual influence on the content of this book. I'd like to thank him for his indefatigable energy and for his interest in this project – for seeing it from informal chats in his office through to the final copyedits of a finished manuscript.