Since the 1990s, the national level is no longer the one which renders educational policies intelligible. The process of standardising public policy references means that international and infranational aspects have to be taken into account and the way in which players establish strategic connections between these levels has to be analysed. As the establishment of the new world order has taken its reference points from the West, this report shall highlight the research dynamic of the resistance against the standards issued from globalisation arising both in the North and the South. Its goal is to provide an in-depth analysis of previous signs by attempting to collectively reflect on the concepts of power, resistance and criticism in the field of education and socialisation.How can we analyse the way in which key international recommendations are partially being countered in the field by the muted opposition of major stakeholders? The article’s starting point is not based on a unified conceptualisation of resistance. They come from diverse approaches reflecting the state of the context, on the basis of original empirical material, but all are connected to a vision of power based on a conception of social networks. One of the key tendencies of the past few years is that, in societies which believe themselves to be secularized, more and more actors are resisting by withdrawing some of their educational practices linked to their religion from all negotiations and entering into a conflict against democratic traditions. The reconceptualization of resistance is one of the urgent tasks which need to be tackled today.