Regional spillover effect of 2022 sanctions against Russia on scholarly publications

Abstract

This article explores the spillover effects of economic sanctions against Russia on research in neighbouring countries. The assumption of the paper is that such effects should take place given the high level of regional integration in the post-Soviet area. The study uses bibliometric data retrieved from the Web of Science for analysis; more specifically, the data on publications during 2019, 2021 and 2023 from each of the four countries of interest – Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics and graphs. The results clearly point to the potential presence of negative externalities of economic sanctions on research systems of neighbouring countries not directly involved in the war. The paper discusses implications of the effects and recommendations, which can be used by policy makers to alleviate the effects on the neighbouring countries and by scholars to further investigate the phenomenon.