Mapping international collaboration in Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies: a bibliometric and econometric study of South African research

This paper examines the dynamics of national and international research collaboration in nanosciences and nanotechnologies (NSTs) in South Africa, a country studied for its distinctive position – at continental and world level – in global scientific production and cross-border partnerships. The main objective is to map collaboration patterns and identify the key determinants of international scientific co-productions. We employ both bibliometric and econometric approaches. The bibliometric analysis, based on publication data from the Clarivate Web of Science®, captures trends in internal and external collaboration, while the econometric analysis applies a gravity model to our dataset, which links publication records with countrylevel information from the CEPII gravity database, the ARD Data Set and the IGO Data Set. Descriptive statistical findings reveal a shift over time, with international collaboration outpacing domestic collaboration. As for the econometric analysis, geographic proximity exerts the strongest positive influence on collaboration intensity, with higher levels of scientific production in partner countries positively associated with collaboration. In addition, shared membership in intergovernmental organizations emerges as the only other relevant factor in explaining co-production. These results highlight both the global integration of South African NSTs research and the persistent structural barriers that shape its collaborative landscape.