Sillanpaa, A; Koivula, T. 2010. Mapping Conflict Research: A Bibliometric Study of Contemporary Scientific Discourses. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES 11 (2): 148-171

[Eugene Garfield]

Sillanpaa, A; Koivula, T. 2010. Mapping Conflict Research: A Bibliometric Study 
of Contemporary Scientific Discourses. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 
PERSPECTIVES 11 (2): 148-171.

Author Full Name(s): Sillanpaa, Antti; Koivula, Tommi
Language: English
Document Type: Article
Author Keywords: conflict research; citation analysis; bibliometrics; scientific 
discourse

KeyWords Plus: INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT; ECONOMIC INTERDEPENDENCE; 
COCITATION ANALYSIS; DOMESTIC CONFLICT; CITATION ANALYSIS; LIBERAL 
PEACE; CIVIL-WAR; DEMOCRACY; DISPUTES; TRADE

Abstract: This paper employs bibliometric methods to map the structure of 
conflict research. Citation information is restructured by means of cluster and 
network analyses for the purpose of identifying the different discourses and 
fields contributing to conflict research. The data are derived from more than 
1,300 articles published in 40 high-quality journals between 2000 and 2006. 
Four main discourses are identified within the field, and it is concluded that 
Democratic Peace Theory constitutes a powerful discursive core of 
contemporary conflict research, affecting most other discourses as well. It is 
suggested that instead of systemic foci, contemporary conflict research is 
dominated by the investigation of dyadic forms of interaction and that, 
somewhat surprisingly, the substantive focus of the most frequently cited 
research has remained on interstate war. The study intends to help researchers 
to be sensitive to gaps and focal points in contemporary research, and promote 
further discussion about the current state of the field. Applied approach 
provides academics, students, and practitioners with a usable and transparent 
procedure for structuring discourses and communicating about them further.

ISSN: 1528-3577
URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1528-
3585.2010.00399.x/abstract