Research Article · Vol. 25, No. 2 (2026)
Mapping Cross-Border Knowledge Networks: Co-Authorship between ASEAN and Northeast Asian Universities, 2010–2025
- Mina Seo — Seoul National University
- Rizal Hakim — Universitas Indonesia
Published 2026-07-26T15:24:45.038Z
Abstract
Scientific collaboration between Southeast and Northeast Asia has intensified but remains unevenly mapped. Using bibliometric data on 480,000 co-authored publications from 2010 to 2025, this study reconstructs the evolving knowledge network linking ASEAN universities with partners in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Community detection reveals a shift from bilateral hub-and-spoke structures centered on Japan toward a multipolar configuration in which Chinese universities anchor dense subregional clusters. Gravity models show that research funding agreements and student mobility programs predict tie formation beyond geographic and linguistic proximity. The findings inform debates on regional integration, science diplomacy, and the Triple Helix in Asia.
Keywords:co-authorship networksASEANscience diplomacybibliometricsregional integration
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This study looks at how universities in Southeast and Northeast Asia collaborate on research, focusing on digital politics, platform societies, and regional innovation systems. The researchers found that these collaboration networks are clustered along linguistic and platform lines, with a few key actors bridging the gaps between them. They also found that these networks change quickly around major events. This study has implications for understanding how science diplomacy affects collaboration in East Asia and suggests that regional cooperation frameworks should consider the role of platforms in these collaborations.
Overview
This study examines co-authorship networks between universities in Southeast and Northeast Asia to understand how science diplomacy shapes contemporary outcomes in digital politics, platform societies, and regional innovation systems.
Methods
The researchers collected data from January 2024 to December 2025, combining computational text analysis with semi-structured interviews. Network matrices were constructed and analyzed using community detection, with robustness checks using alternative thresholds and bootstrap resampling.
Implications
The results have implications for theory and policy, refining accounts of networked publics in East Asia and suggesting that regional cooperation frameworks should attend to platform-level brokerage.
Limitations
Limitations include a single-region scope and platform API constraints. Future research should extend the comparison across Southeast Asia.
Key Findings
- Discourse communities are strongly clustered along linguistic and platform lines.
- Brokerage positions are occupied by a small number of hybrid actors who translate between communities.
- Temporal analysis reveals rapid reconfiguration around focusing events.
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