- The paper reveals that military tensions led to a significant decrease in bilateral co-authored research, notably with a marked drop in publications by 2016.
- The study employs Scopus data from 2007-2016 to quantitatively assess spatial and temporal shifts in scientific outputs between Ukrainian and Russian researchers.
- Key institutions like the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine maintained vital roles, even as collaborations increasingly involved international partners.
Bibliometric Analysis of Ukrainian-Russian Scientific Cooperation During 2014-2016
This paper conducts a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications co-authored by researchers affiliated with Ukrainian and Russian institutions between the years 2007 and 2016. The source of data is Scopus, a comprehensive abstract and citation database. The paper provides a quantitative assessment of the collaborative dynamics spatially and temporally contextualized within the backdrop of Russian military aggression against Ukraine during 2014-2016.
The analysis reveals that the cooperation between Ukrainian and Russian researchers saw a decline in the number of joint scientific projects following the onset of military tensions. In particular, a marked decrease in co-authored publications was noted in 2016, highlighting the adverse impact of geopolitical conflict on academic collaboration. Nevertheless, it is important to contextualize this decrease with the fact that certain research outcomes published post-2014 might have been initiated prior to the conflict. Therefore, the full impact of this conflict may only manifest over an extended period.
Despite the decline, researchers from both countries continued participating in international projects with significant collaborative contributions involving other countries. Notably, publications resulting from collaborations involving third-party international researchers did not significantly diminish. The collaboration data indicates that during the 2007-2016 period, Ukrainian and Russian researchers published 7,840 documents, with 3,631 documents solely authored by institutions from the two nations. Key international academic partners included the USA, France, Poland, Italy, and Great Britain.
The paper underscores the role played by major academic institutions such as the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in fostering scientific cooperation, accounting for a substantial number of the co-authored publications. The prevalent subject areas for collaboration included chemistry, physics, and technology. It is noteworthy that many of these collaborative outputs were published in periodicals with high citation indices, suggesting the academic value of these cooperative ventures despite the geopolitical backdrop.
An interesting aspect highlighted in the analysis is the preference of Ukrainian and Russian researchers for establishing more robust collaborations with scientists from other countries beyond the bilateral context. This reflects an evolving dynamic in international research collaborations, influenced both by regional conflicts and broader global academic trends.
The implications of the paper are manifold. Practically, it serves as a substantial basis for formulating strategic policies for future scientific collaborations and development programs in Ukraine, fostering resilience in academic endeavors despite geopolitical perturbations. Theoretically, it contributes to the literature on the effects of international hostilities on scholarly interactions, suggesting a need for adaptive strategies in academic collaborations that transcend national boundaries and contend with regional instabilities.
Future research could explore the specific factors driving the success of non-bilateral collaborations, the changing role of funding mechanisms, and potential models of scientific cooperation resilient to political conflicts. Additionally, a finer-grained analysis of how collaborations in different scientific disciplines were affected during the conflict period could provide more nuanced insights.
In conclusion, this paper provides a foundational overview of Ukrainian-Russian scientific cooperation within a politically charged context, with implications for both national science policy and international academic collaboration strategies. Researchers and policy-makers must consider how geopolitical factors might affect the collaborative landscape and adapt to maintain continuity and foster scientific advancement.