Higher education for peacebuilding：a bibliometric study after 21st century

• In Event: Peace education and higher education

Proposal

Global agendas such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Education 2030 Framework highlight the central role of education in fostering peace and sustainable societies (Yoshida and Walt, 2017; Sachs, et al., 2025). Within this context, higher education is increasingly recognized as a key arena where future leaders and professionals are shaped, directly influencing peace-oriented practices at societal and international levels (Culp, 2016; Dunlop and King, 2019). Thus, higher education functions not only as a site of academic training but also as a potential platform for peacebuilding.

Despite this relevance, research on higher education and peacebuilding remains fragmented. Existing studies—often case-based and qualitative—have examined contributions through intercultural learning, human rights education, and global citizenship (Kester, 2018; Pherali and Lewis, 2019; Sansom, 2020). While offering valuable insights, these works are usually confined to specific contexts and lack a systematic and global perspective. Moreover, prior reviews rarely capture broader patterns of knowledge production, collaboration networks, or thematic evolution.

To address these gaps, this study applies bibliometrics, a method that statistically maps a field through publications, citations, and keywords (Van Raan, 2019). By combining quantitative mapping with qualitative content analysis, the study seeks to provide a macro-level overview of global knowledge production and thematic development in higher education for peacebuilding since the 21st century.

The analysis is framed by peace education theory. Harris (2004) identifies five interrelated strands—international, human rights, development, environmental, and conflict resolution education—that illustrate the field’s diversity. Danesh (2006) proposes an Integrative Theory of Peace, conceptualizing peace as a holistic psychological, social, political, ethical, and spiritual condition. These perspectives help interpret how higher education research has increasingly shifted from negative peace toward positive peace.

Accordingly, this study investigates three questions:
(1) What are the quantifiable patterns of research productivity and collaboration in higher education for peacebuilding globally?
(2) How have research themes and methodological approaches evolved over time?
(3) What evidence exists of geographical and institutional disparities in knowledge production within this field?

Data were systematically collected from the Web of Science Core Collection, using the search strategy: TS = (("higher education" OR "tertiary education" OR "higher learning") AND ("peace" OR "peaceful" OR "peacebuilding")). The temporal scope covered January 2000 to July 2025, yielding 104 peer-reviewed articles and reviews after rigorous screening based on relevance and quality criteria. Quantitative analysis utilized CiteSpace and VOSviewer software (Chen et al., 2012; Van Eck and Waltman, 2010). Statistical measures included publication frequency, citation impact, collaboration coefficients, and temporal trend analysis. Qualitative analysis involved systematic content review to identify thematic clusters and methodological approaches across the collected literature.

The empirical findings reveal significant patterns in global knowledge production. Three distinct research phases emerge: sparse growth (2005-2010), steady expansion (2012-2018), and accelerated growth (2019-2025). Analysis of 235 authors from 165 institutions across 51 countries shows limited concentration, with Kevin Kester leading (7 publications, 11.4 citations per paper), while most scholars contribute only 2 papers each. Geographical analysis reveals markedproduction inequalities. The United States (22 publications) and United Kingdom (21 publications) dominate output, while Spain achieves the highest citation impact (38.29 per publication). Journal analysis demonstrates interdisciplinary publishing across 70 outlets. Sustainability accounts for the largest share (12 publications; 28.75 citations per paper), followed by the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals six thematic clusters. The six clusters can be summarized by their leading keywords: Higher education, Sustainable development, Children, Civil-war, Crisis, and Internationalization. According to Price’s Law, terms appearing more than five times are treated as high-frequency keywords, with higher education, sustainable development, education, emerging as core concepts. These results confirm that peacebuilding in higher education is situated at the intersection of education, sustainability, and political conflict, reflecting an interdisciplinary orientation beyond traditional peace studies. Timeline analysis indicates three phases. 2005–2010: politics, war, and democracy; 2010–2015: theoretical linkages among higher education, peace, and sustainable development; 2015–2025: practice-oriented work on curriculum, pedagogy, and SDG-aligned skills. Overall, the field has evolved from fragmented themes to applied approaches that position higher education as a potential driver of peacebuilding.

The findings indicate that research on higher education for peacebuilding has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, yet knowledge production remains uneven, with limited representation from the Global South and conflict-affected regions. Publication outlets increasingly reflect an interdisciplinary orientation, with much of the work entering mainstream debates through the lens of sustainable development discourse and aligning closely with the SDGs. Thematic priorities have also shifted: while earlier studies emphasized war, politics, and democracy, more recent work has focused on educational practice, including curriculum reform, pedagogy, and classroom-based interventions. This diversification can be understood through Harris’s (2004) peace education framework, which highlights multiple pathways—such as human rights, conflict resolution, and development—through which education engages with peace. At the same time, Danesh’s (2006) Integrative Theory of Peace provides a lens to interpret the transition from a concern with negative peace (the absence of violence) toward positive peace (justice, sustainability, and transformative education). Together, these perspectives suggest that higher education is increasingly viewed not only as a site for responding to conflict but also as a vehicle for long-term social transformation, even as regional imbalances and classroom-level political tensions continue to pose challenges.

This study consolidates a fragmented body of work on higher education for peacebuilding and offers an evidence-based overview of global research patterns after 21st century. By applying bibliometric techniques, it highlights how knowledge production has evolved, where it remains uneven, and how thematic priorities have shifted toward practice and sustainability. Beyond mapping the field, the analysis situates these patterns within peace education theory, illustrating the movement from conflict-focused approaches toward broader conceptions of positive peace. The contribution lies in establishing a structured foundation for comparative inquiry, clarifying gaps in participation and coverage, and offering insights that can inform future research agendas, institutional strategies, and policymaking in higher education for peacebuilding.

Authors

• Siyun Zhang, East China Normal University

• Mingzi Zhang, Institute of Curriculum & Instruction, East China Normal University