Transformation of Global Science core-periphery structure towards a multi-polar horizon: The Rise of China and the Global South from 1980-2020
Andrea Montano Ramirez
(University of California, Merced)
Alexander Petersen
(University of California Merced)
Short abstract
Global science has shifted from Euro-American dominance to a multipolar system, with China leading integration. Using a core-periphery framework, we show how rising powers enter the rich club, while nat./transnat. innovation systems and large-team science projects promote global science integration.
Long abstract
The global post-industrial shift has witnessed vast geo-political and technological transformations -- but to what degree are they mirrored in the scientific enterprise? We examine the structure and dynamics of international collaboration networks from 1980 to 2020, which features the disruptive shift from the longstanding Anglophone duopoly to the multi-polar landscape of the 21st century. To this end, we develop a systematic framework for tracking core-periphery dynamics, which facilitates analyzing the structural factors underlying the ascendance of China and other global south nations. To provide a more granular perspective on the shifting geo-political role of the U.S. within the global science system, we disaggregated cross-border publications by U.S. states alongside other countries. Longitudinal analysis illustrates the global shift from Euro-American dominance to a multipolar system, with China emerging as a leader and facilitating the integration of its most active partners into the rich club of scientific production. This structural transformation has, nevertheless, altered the stability of longstanding systemic hierarchies and is reminiscent of the ``Three-Body Problem'' in dynamical systems theory, where the addition of massive poles reduces the system's stability and predictability. Our findings also highlight the roles of overarching national (US) and transnational innovation (EU) systems, and the expansive influence of large team science projects as two factors promoting global science integration. These insights provide a fresh perspective on the analysis of global science and its implications for national science policy development, offering strategies for global science countries to strengthen their positions in an increasingly integrated global science system.
Accepted Paper
Short abstract
Long abstract
The global post-industrial shift has witnessed vast geo-political and technological transformations -- but to what degree are they mirrored in the scientific enterprise? We examine the structure and dynamics of international collaboration networks from 1980 to 2020, which features the disruptive shift from the longstanding Anglophone duopoly to the multi-polar landscape of the 21st century. To this end, we develop a systematic framework for tracking core-periphery dynamics, which facilitates analyzing the structural factors underlying the ascendance of China and other global south nations. To provide a more granular perspective on the shifting geo-political role of the U.S. within the global science system, we disaggregated cross-border publications by U.S. states alongside other countries. Longitudinal analysis illustrates the global shift from Euro-American dominance to a multipolar system, with China emerging as a leader and facilitating the integration of its most active partners into the rich club of scientific production. This structural transformation has, nevertheless, altered the stability of longstanding systemic hierarchies and is reminiscent of the ``Three-Body Problem'' in dynamical systems theory, where the addition of massive poles reduces the system's stability and predictability. Our findings also highlight the roles of overarching national (US) and transnational innovation (EU) systems, and the expansive influence of large team science projects as two factors promoting global science integration. These insights provide a fresh perspective on the analysis of global science and its implications for national science policy development, offering strategies for global science countries to strengthen their positions in an increasingly integrated global science system.
Knowledge, networks & nations: new dynamics of collaboration & competition
Session 1 Monday 30 June, 2025, -