Rapid Growth of Research Output Amidst Political Instability: A Study of Libya’s Last 20 Years

Political stability is widely seen as a foundational building block of a national innovation system. For countries like Libya whose last 20 years have included revolution and civil war, this means that low research productivity has been assumed and thus ignored. Seeking to empower the innovation system in Libya, this article examines the current status of Libya’s research accomplishments and capabilities through the lens of top-tier scientific research output. Counterintuitively, this retrospective bibliometric study on the Web of Science shows robust research growth in Libya over the last 20 years, even through political turmoil and despite lack of funding. International partnerships are noted as a key correlate of this growth, perhaps supported by capacity building projects and mobility programs. While the overall scientific output from Libya is currently low relative to regional, economic, and developmental comparisons, the growth also suggests the existence of substantial intellectual capital that could sustain expansion in research and innovation.