Recent studies on structural transformation of the education systems in different countries emphasize the global, national and local dynamics and the public-private dichotomy. This brings to the fore the problems of scale and border as basic elements of analysis. These concepts become increasingly important as re-scaling and the consequent re- definition of borders transform education systems which were historically and structurally shaped at the national level. Despite the explanatory strengths of the concept of scale, it also has some limitations. State- centric analysis sticking to the national level makes understanding the transformations in education systems more difficult; the state is defined as a monolithic and static institution, with a separate existence from social relations, and is assumed to act according to the 'common good'. This paper puts forward a framework for analysis of the recent transformations, regarding them as part of the changing dynamics of capital accumulation and class relations, that can potentially uncover both the structural- deterministic and the conjectural-subjective dynamics underlying the new tendencies. Commodification of education, which is shaped by conflicts and alliances between different class and group interests, further mobilizes reactions towards this tendency. Thus, the borders between the public and the private and the national and the global are in a continuous process of formation, shaped by the conflicts or alliances between different classes and groups. As these conflicts and alliances take place in the domain of the state, state-led transformation in the education system has to be understood as an ongoing process, embedded in social relations, instead of rational and absolute decisions imposed by the requirements of the common good of the society. A second limitation of the concept of scale is its economic determinism. This paper argues that the education system is closely related to cultural features, hegemony formation, creation of individuals appropriate to the changing rhythm of daily life, which introduce additional complexity to the conflictual process through which interests are reflected in state policy, extending the process of re-scaling of education and relevant changes in legislation in many countries. The transformations the higher education system in Turkey is undergoing constitute a very good example for putting forward the epistemological and empirical problems pointed above. The legislation framing higher education in this country has been undergoing change throughout the last decade, through a process shaped by inner and outer dynamics, conflicting class and group interests, and their repercussions on state legislative activity. This paper finally analyzes the process of re-regulation in the higher education system in Turkey within the above- outlined framework.