Arab Spring’s impact on science through the lens of scholarly attention, funding, and migration

Asgari Y., Zhou H., Özer Ö. K., Rezapour R., Sloane M. E., Bovet A.

Scientometrics, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s11192-026-05615-z
  • Dergi Adı: Scientometrics
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Aerospace Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, BIOSIS, Index Islamicus, Information Science and Technology Abstracts, INSPEC, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, zbMATH, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Biological Science Database (ProQuest), Earth, Atmospheric, & Aquatic Science Collection (ProQuest), Engineering Source (EBSCO), Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Arab Spring, Bibliometric data, Middle East and North Africa, Scholar mobility, Scholarly attention
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The 2010–2011 Arab Spring reverberated far beyond politics, reshaping how the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) is studied. Analyzing 3.6 million Scopus-indexed articles published between 2002 and 2019, we find that mentions of ten of these countries in titles or abstracts rose significantly after 2011 relative to the global baseline, with Egypt receiving the greatest attention in the region. We link this surge to two intertwined mechanisms: an increase in research funding directed to the MENA region and the emigration of researchers who continued publishing about their countries of origin. Our analysis reveals that Saudi Arabia has emerged as a regional hub for research on the target countries, providing funding and attracting scholars and thereby playing a significant role in shaping the scientific narrative on the region. These findings demonstrate how political upheaval can reshape global knowledge flows by altering who studies whom, with what resources, and in which disciplines.