A Bibliometric Analysis of World Issues—Social, Political, Economic, and Environmental Dimensions

Abstract

Globalization has taken place for several decades and the world has become a connected place. As researchers are on the frontline to explore world (or global) issues, it is crucial to understand what research has been done and what the emerging topics relating to social, political, economic, and environmental dimensions are. This study investigates the trend and emerging topics of world (or global) issues using a bibliometric approach. A literature search using Scopus identified 1201 related documents, including journal articles, review articles, conference articles, books, and book chapters published during the period 1975–2022. Bibliometric data were analyzed using Scopus tools and VOSviewer software. Results show that the number of publications on world (or global) issues has increased over the last five decades, particularly after 2001. Two major streams of research were identified based on co-occurrence of keywords. They were “sustainable development and climate change”, and “environmental protection, economics, and politics”. Additionally, corporate social responsibility, governance approach, and COVID-19 were identified as emerging keywords in recent years.