Scientific cooperation in the republics of former Yugoslavia before, during and after the Yugoslav wars

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of scientific research output of the republics of former Yugoslavia for the period 1970-2014. Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (WoS) database was used for data acquisition and 223 135 publications have been analyzed. The Yugoslav Wars were ethnic conflicts fought from 1991 to 1999 on the territory of former Yugoslavia, which accompanied the breakup of the country, and today, each republic of former Yugoslavia is an independent country, as well as the province of Kosovo. Results of the analysis are represented by four figures depicting cooperation networks between former Yugoslav republics and the province of Kosovo for the periods before the Yugoslav wars (from 1970 until 1990), during the wars (from 1991 until 1999), in the first decade after the wars (from 2000 until 2009), and in the last 5 years (from 2010 until 2014). The impact of the wars on scientific cooperation in the republics has been studied.