The landscape of cultural-historical psychology in BRICS+ countries: a bibliometric analysis

Context and relevance. The active development of cultural-historical psychology within the framework of international research demonstrates a significant expansion in the geographical distribution of publications over the past two decades, notably driven by the increasing contributions of BRICS+ countries. Nevertheless, the dynamics of publication activity, the structure of international collaboration, and the thematic evolution of cultural-historical psychology remain underexplored from a bibliometric perspective. Objective.This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the publication landscape in cultural-historical psychology between 2005 and 2024, with particular attention to the contribution of BRICS+ countries. Research Questions.The study examined: 1) the dynamics and geographical distribution of publication activity in the field of cultural-historical psychology, including the contribution of BRICS+ countries, over the period 2005—2024; 2) the structure of international scientific collaboration and the distribution of scientific influence; 3) the thematic structure of the field and its transformation over the past two decades; and 4) the contribution of the journal Cultural-Historical Psychology to the development and internationalisation of scientific communication. Methods and materials. The study incorporates: 1) a corpus of 4,332 publications identified through key terms relevant to the cultural-historical approach; 2) 947 publications from the journal Cultural-Historical Psychology; and 3) 949 publications citing articles from the same journal, sыourced from Scopus, OpenAlex, and eLibrary.ru. The bibliometric analysis employed PRISMA protocols, R (bibliometrix), VOSviewer, and Python-based analytical tools. Results. The findings reveal a steady and, in some cases, accelerating growth in publication activity across BRICS+ countries: sevenfold in Russia, 3,7 times in Brazil, and 4,8 times in China over the study period. Publications from BRICS+ countries display a thematic shift towards educational and developmental issues. Despite increasing international citations, scientific collaboration within the BRICS+ bloc remains limited. The journal Cultural-Historical Psychology, which will mark its twentieth anniversary in 2025, occupies a central position in the publication landscape: it brings together authors from 49 countries, is cited in works from 61 countries, and more than one-third of citing publications appear in top-tier journals (Q1, International Scientific Journal & Country Ranking 2024). Conclusions. The publication landscape of cultural-historical psychology is characterised by global growth, with BRICS+ countries assuming an increasingly prominent role. Strengthening international cooperation within the BRICS+ bloc and fostering sustainable transnational networks represent key prospects for further advancement. The journal Cultural-Historical Psychology continues to serve as a major international scientific platform and contributes to the consolidation of the publication core within the field.