Iranian Scientific Journals in the Glob-al Knowledge Value Chain: Strategies for Science Diplomacy and Economic Competitiveness

Purpose: This study aims to examine strategies for enhancing the position of Iranian scientific journals within the global knowledge value chain, with a focus on science diplomacy and the economics of scholarly publishing. Although Iran contributes approximately 2% of global scientific output, its participation in the international publishing economy remains around 0.3%. This sevenfold imbalance reflects institutional, policy, and infrastructural barriers that hinder the translation of scientific productivity into measurable economic and diplomatic influence. Accordingly, the study addresses three central questions: (1) What is the position of scientific journals in the global knowledge economy? (2) What gaps exist between Iran’s scientific production and its participation in the publishing economy? (3) What institutional, technological, and structural factors limit the international competitiveness of Iranian journals? Understanding these questions is vital for improving visibility, ensuring financial sustainability, and strengthening Iran’s role in global science diplomacy.
Methodology: This research employs an analytical-review approach that combines bibliometric analysis with policy evaluation. It utilizes data published between 2015 and 2025, along with statistics from the Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) database, covering 27 subject categories. The study assesses the publication volume, economic value, and disciplinary concentration of Iranian scientific journals, comparing them with global benchmarks from major publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Wiley. Trends in open-access publishing, article processing charges (APCs), and digital infrastructures—such as DOI, ORCID, standardized XML, and Crossref integration—are analyzed to identify systemic gaps. Descriptive and comparative assessments highlight medicine, engineering, and life sciences as dominant and high-value fields within Iran’s publishing ecosystem. The analysis focuses on how disciplinary concentration influences both economic potential and international impact, emphasizing the need for structural modernization and sustainable funding models.
Findings: The findings show that Iranian journals are predominantly concentrated in medicine, engineering, and life sciences, which together account for more than 70% of the total estimated monetary value. According to Scimago (August 2025), the overall economic value of Iranian journals indexed in Scopus is approximately USD 200 million—just 0.3% of the USD 53 billion global market. This disparity highlights that despite Iran’s scientific productivity, its economic share remains marginal. The most valuable journals are often affiliated with medical universities and engineering faculties, benefiting from higher citation rates and broader readership. However, limited international authorship, minimal participation of foreign reviewers, and reliance on government or university funding undermine their global competitiveness. Systemic inefficiencies—such as inconsistent peer-review timelines, editorial variability, limited technological integration, and weak international marketing—remain critical challenges. Subject-specific analysis indicates that pharmacy, biochemistry, and health sciences achieve higher value per article compared to agriculture or social sciences, suggesting that targeted investment could enhance profitability. Fields indexed in higher SJR quartiles (Q1–Q2) demonstrate greater economic and academic visibility, whereas journals in lower tiers contribute minimally to national publishing revenue. Furthermore, insufficient adoption of scientometric analytics, lack of professional training for editors, and the absence of transparent performance indicators hinder evidence-based decision-making. Together, these findings highlight the need for strategic policy reform, technical modernization, and international cooperation to transform Iran’s publication volume into measurable economic and diplomatic outcomes.
Conclusion: Bridging the identified gaps requires a coordinated national strategy. Establishing a National School of Editorial and Publishing Leadership, with mandatory professional certification, can professionalize editorial and managerial roles across disciplines. Integrating artificial intelligence into editorial workflows would optimize manuscript screening, plagiarism detection, and peer-review management, while ensuring adherence to ethical standards. Developing a national integrated publishing platform that supports DOI, ORCID, standardized XML, Crossref interoperability, and scientometric analytics would enhance the digital infrastructure and interoperability among universities and publishing institutions. Additionally, standardizing peer-review timelines and transparency metrics can improve reliability and attract international contributors. From a policy perspective, the Iranian Academic Publishing Center and the SAMT Institute, in partnership with the private sector under a public–private framework, should establish knowledge-based publishing enterprises capable of competing globally through investment, innovation, and equity acquisition. Strengthening science diplomacy through joint special issues, international guest editors, and cross-border collaborations would expand Iran’s academic presence and enhance its soft power. Regional cooperation with Asian and Middle Eastern partners could significantly enhance the visibility and impact of journals. Achieving these objectives requires synergy among policymakers, universities, and publishers. Coordinated efforts must integrate technological infrastructure, transparent regulations, and specialized human capital. Transitioning from state-funded to self-sustaining, market-oriented publishing models will be essential for long-term resilience. Implementing these recommendations would enable Iranian journals to evolve into credible, revenue-generating, and diplomatically influential actors within the global publishing economy. Ultimately, such transformation would improve Iran’s scientific visibility, economic contribution, and participation in the sustainable development of global knowledge.