Bibliometric analysis of civil society: trends and developments from 2019-2024

Abstract

Scholarship on civil society is dispersed across disciplines, journals, and regional traditions, which makes the field difficult to see as a whole. The objective of this study is to map trends, developments, and structures in civil society research globally during the period 2019–2024. A bibliometric approach was used to analyze 2,528 articles from the Scopus database. A thorough analysis employing Biblioshiny and VOSviewer has been conducted, revealing active research domains with considerable citation impact. Furthermore, the analysis discloses annual output fluctuations that exhibit responsiveness to the global context. The results indicate the preeminence of productivity from the Global North, though there is an increasing trend of participation from the Global South, accompanied by intricate citation impact patterns. Thematically, research focuses on democracy, human rights, and governance, while adapting to challenges such as authoritarianism and the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, with a focus on NGOs and collective action. International collaboration (19.42%) and intellectual connectivity are extensive, albeit centered on North-North and North-South networks. This comprehensive mapping underscores the relevance of civil society and highlights the need for efforts to promote more inclusive collaboration and deeper contextual research.