Social network analysis of scholar migration: analyzing the patterns and flows over two decades

Scholar migration, a form of skilled migration, has increasingly attracted the attention of research groups, institutions, and countries due to its returns to individuals, institutions, and nations. However, there have been limited global studies that consider shifts in scholar migration, and existing research mostly focuses on migration flows from peripheral countries to traditional destinations. Regarding recent developments in countries’ higher education policies, as well as shifts in technological developments, escalating international conflicts, rising mass migration, and changes in academic research patterns, there is a need to examine contemporary trends in scholar migration and their evolution over time. Using bibliometric longitudinal data from 1998 to 2020, this study aims to analyze the scale and patterns of international scholar migration worldwide and trace the evolution of the network structure over this 23-year time period. The social network analysis shows that, although the south-north migration trend remains dominant, new patterns are emerging that demonstrate growing interest from non-traditional destinations in welcoming scholars. Additionally, the size and strength of migration flows are initially driven by a country’s scientific capacity and economic status and later shaped by cultural, geographical, and historical ties. This study advances scholarship on how international scholar migration is shaped by the interaction between structural inequalities and evolving cross-country knowledge networks, highlighting the need to revisit key theoretical orientations used to analyze skilled migration.