Call for papers

Migraciones
Instituto Universitario de Estudios sobre Migraciones

Universidad Pontificia Comillas

(MONOGRAPH ISSUE)

 

Inequalities in the Internationalization of Science

Guest editors

  • Marcia Rangel Candido  | Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (CIES-Iscte)
  • Thais França  |  Centro de Investigação e Estudos de Sociologia do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (CIES-Iscte)

Contents

This special issue of Migraciones aims to bring together research analyzing inequalities in the internationalization of science, focusing on the experiences of scholars who move abroad to advance their careers.

We welcome contributions from the social sciences and related fields that examine how variables such as gender, race, nationality, geopolitical context, and other dimensions shape both the conditions, experiences and consequences of scholars' mobility, considering their work in higher education and research institutions, as well as their participation in the global publication system.

We will only consider submissions that explicitly engage with at least one of the different dimensions of mobilities and/or migration dynamics (e.g., social, economic, political dimensions), and address at least one dimension of inequality in science (gender, geographical origin, race, ethnicity).

Inequalities in science continue to represent a global problem, as highlighted by the latest UNESCO report on gender disparity (2024), which estimates that, on average, 33.7% of researchers in 95 countries are women. Moreover, women are also underrepresented in international mobility activities across all scientific fields, although there are geographical and disciplinary variations (Momeni et al., 2022). Different social markers of identity are essential to uncover hierarchies and oppressions that limit opportunities for academic mobility (Bilecen and van Mol, 2017; França and Padilla, 2017).

While gender inequalities in international academic mobility have received increasing attention in recent decades, other forms of inequality, such as racial issues, often present even more pronounced challenges in pursuing an international academic career, yet remain understudied. For instance, in Brazil, 90.1% of scientists in the 'Biological Sciences' and 'Exact and Earth Sciences' are white (Campos and Candido, 2023). However, studies examining how this affects the international mobility of Black scholars are rare. In a similar vein, reports published in Nature on the United Kingdom, India, and Germany highlight the impediments to collecting data on racial inequalities in science.

The lack of robust data on the diversity within academic communities significantly impedes the advancement of comprehensive research exploring how social inequalities shape scientific mobility dynamics. Furthermore, this data deficiency renders the adoption of a truly international and inclusive approach to addressing these disparities nearly impossible. Therefore, the relevance of this dossier is primarily justified by our aim to help address this shortfall by encouraging the publication of studies on academic mobility that are sensitive to the multidimensionality of inequalities.

Moreover, the dynamics of internationalization also remain marked by inequalities that affect the global academic system (Beigel, 2013; 2023). English as the dominant language, the existence of large publishing companies that commodify scientific production, the hierarchization of higher education and research institutions, with some countries and regions as the “centers”, and the expropriation of knowledge by foreign researchers without proper dialogue with local populations, are some of the characteristics that persist in the geopolitics of global knowledge and that constitute injustices to be combated to promote a more egalitarian science. In addition to their prominence in the global publishing system, English-speaking countries are the most attractive destinations for students in general. For instance, the top five destination countries in the OECD are Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States; four of those countries are English-speaking countries. Together, these four countries receive more than 35% of all internationally mobile students in OECD and partner countries (OECD, 2022). As a result, most of the existing literature on the topic focuses on the Anglophone contexts. In contrast, a higher proportion of students from the Caribbean, Central, and South America choose European destinations—such as Spain and Portugal—demonstrating the significant role that a shared language plays in mobility decisions within the academic context  (França et al., 2018), underscoring how, other academic mobility circuits need to be considered.

Our proposal recognizes that a significant portion of studies investigating inequalities in academic mobility predominantly cite references written in English, thereby overlooking valuable knowledge published in other languages. This linguistic limitation risks excluding important perspectives and insights from diverse scientific communities, particularly those in non-English-speaking regions. In a similar vein, many studies exploring inequalities in scientific mobility, even when conducted by scholars from the Global South based in the Global North, primarily focus on how these dynamics unfold within the Global North. As a result, the existing literature tends to overlook complexities and specificities within the Global South. Thus, we aim to encourage the academic community to reflect on these dynamics beyond mainstream contexts, giving special attention to the knowledge that is being produced in languages other than English.

Finally, this study seeks to contribute to the growing call for more comparative analysis within the field of academic mobility. Comparative studies of national higher education systems can offer critical insights into how structural and contextual factors shape patterns of academic mobility within, into, and out of different countries. Similarly, research comparing academic cultures within the same national context can also demonstrate how internationalization dynamics vary according to different types of socialization. In Argentina, for instance, studies have shown that there are two more traditional profiles of scholars: one focused on research and more likely to migrate or adopt internationalization strategies, such as publishing in English, and the other focused on teaching and participating in local journals (Medina and Baert, 2013; Beigel, 2017). We therefore encourage methodological innovations, as well as qualitative and/or quantitative research, including case studies or comparative analyses, to better understand the complexities of migration in science.

Abstract proposals should offer empirical and theoretical-methodological insights into the relationship between migration and the internationalization of science. In particular, proposals may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Academic Mobility, academic publishing inequalities, and their impact on networks, productivity, and citation rates
  • Gender, race, and geographical inequalities in international academic mobility
  • Geopolitical and linguistic dynamics in the internationalization of science
  • Knowledge circulation and mobility in the Global South
  • Comparative perspectives and innovative methodologies on academic mobility

We look forward to receiving innovative and critical contributions that challenge dominant migration discourses and enrich the debate on socio-ecological transformations.

The required abstract is between 150 and 250 words. The abstract should be in English, and the archive should also contain the title, institutional affiliations, and email addresses of the authors.

References

Beigel, Fernanda. (2013). Centros e periferias na circulação internacional do conhecimento. Nueva Sociedad.

Beigel, Fernanda. (2023). Abrir las ciencias sociales en tiempos de ciencia aberta. e-l@tina. Revista electrónica de estudios latinoamericanos.

Beigel, Fernanda. (2017). Peripheral Scientists, between Ariel and Caliban. Institutional Know-how and Circuits of Recognition in Argentina. The “Career-best Publications” of the Researchers at CONICET. Dados, 60(3). https://doi.org/10.1590/001152582017136

Bilecen, B., & Van Mol, C. (2017). Introduction: international academic mobility and inequalities. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(8), 1241–1255. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1300225

Campos, Luiz Augusto, & Candido, Marcia. (2023). Desigualdades Raciais na Ciência Brasileira. Plataforma interativa GEMAA. https://gemaa.iesp.uerj.br/infografico/desigualdades-raciais-na-ciencia-brasileira/

França, Thais, & Padilla, Beatriz. (2017). Reflecting on international academic mobility through feminist lenses: moving beyond the obvious. Comparative Cultural Studies: European and Latin American Perspectives, 3, 40-50.

França, Thais, Alves, Elisa, & Padilla, Beatriz. (2018). Portuguese Policies Fostering International Student Mobility: A Colonial Legacy or a New Strategy? Globalisation, Societies and Education 16(3), 325–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2018.1457431.

Medina, Leandro, & Baert, Patrick. (2013). Local chairs vs International Networks: the Beginning of the Scholarly Career in a Peripheral Academic Field. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society.

Momeni, Fakhri, Karimi, Fariba, Mayr, Philipp, Peters, Isabella, & Dietze, Stefan. (2022). The Many Facets of Academic Mobility and Its Impact on Scholars’ Career. Journal of Informetrics, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2022.101280

OECD. (2022). Education at a Glance 2022: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/3197152b-en

UNESCO. (2024). The Gender Gap in Science: Status and Trends. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000388805

Proposed schedule

  1. Submission of abstracts: before  June 6, 2025.
    All abstracts, in English, should be sent in Word format to the following e-mail addresses: revista.migraciones@comillas.edu, marcia.candido@iscte-iul.pt,   thais.franca@iscte-iul.pt
  2. Abstracts will have a maximum of 500 words and must include the following information and structure: author/s, affiliation, e-mail, abstract (title, objectives and theoretical approach, methodology, results and conclusions).
  3. Authors will be notified of the result on June 15, 2025.
  4. Final submission of articles: once the abstract proposal has been accepted, the full text, in English, must be submitted via the journal's website before November 1st, 2025 for evaluation.
    https://revistas.comillas.edu/index.php/revistamigraciones/about/submissions

Impotant dates

  1. Call for abstracts: from  May 1, 2025 to June 6, 2025
  2. Submission of abstracts: by June 6, 2025
  3. Evaluation of abstracts received and communication to authors: June 15, 2025
  4. Submission of articles to the journal: by November 1, 2025
  5. Editors' preliminary review: November 1-15, 2025
  6. Peer review (first decision after blind evaluation): November 16, 2025 to March 10, 2026.
  7. Submission of revised/final versions : April, 2025. In some cases a 2nd round of peer review may be required.
  8. Expected publication date of the monograph: July 2026