CONCEPTUALISING NATIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION COMPETITIVENESS: A MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK, КОНЦЕПТУАЛИЗАЦИЯ КОНКУРЕНТОСПОСОБНОСТИ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОЙ СИСТЕМЫ ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ: МНОГОУРОВНЕВАЯ МОДЕЛЬ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ, MILLIY OLIY TAʼLIM TIZIMI RAQOBATBARDOSHLIGINI KONSEPTUALLASHTIRISH: KOʻP DARAJALI BOSHQARUV MODELI

<jats:p>The article conceptualizes the concept of competitiveness of the national higher education system based on the synthesis of six scientific streams - system-level competitiveness, emergence and multi-level governance, institutional theory, resource-based approach, new public administration and signal theory. Based on forty verified sources, a three-level and four-component analytical matrix is constructed, and the central thesis is put forward: system competitiveness is not a sum of institutional indicators, but an emergent result of the interaction of resource allocation, institutional environment, and management quality. The model is operationalized on the example of Uzbek reforms, and an empirical verification program is proposed.</jats:p>