The state of global catastrophic risk research: a bibliometric review

Jehn, Florian Ulrich; Engler, John-Oliver; Arnscheidt, Constantin W.; Wache, Magdalena; Ilin, Ekaterina; Cook, Laura; Sundaram, Lalitha S.; Hanusch, Frederic; Kemp, Luke

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1053-2025

Articles | Volume 16, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1053-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Earth resilience in the Anthropocene

https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1053-2025

© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 16, issue 4

Review

|

22 Jul 2025

Review |

| 22 Jul 2025

The state of global catastrophic risk research: a bibliometric review

Florian Ulrich Jehn, John-Oliver Engler, Constantin W. Arnscheidt, Magdalena Wache, Ekaterina Ilin, Laura Cook, Lalitha S. Sundaram, Frederic Hanusch, and Luke Kemp

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1053-2025-supplement

Data sets

florianjehn/bibliometrics: First full release (1.0) F. U. Jehn and E. Ilin https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14021379

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Short summary

This study presents the first systematic analysis of the global catastrophic risk and existential risk literature, examining 3437 documents from OpenAlex. Using bibliographic coupling, we identify and describe 10 research clusters aligned with major risks. The field shows geographic concentration in the US/UK, gender imbalance, and a small number of prolific authors. We recommend improving diversity, fostering cross-cluster collaboration, and building connections with adjacent disciplines.