  This study analyzes the unprecedented growth of international research
collaboration (IRC) in Europe during the period 2009-2018 in terms of
coauthorship and citation distribution of globally indexed publications. The
results reveal the dynamics of this change, as growing IRC moves European
systems away from institutional collaboration, with stable and strong national
collaboration. Domestic output has remained flat. The growth in publications in
major European systems is almost entirely attributable to internationally
coauthored papers. A comparison of trends within the four complementary
collaboration modes clearly reveals that the growth of European science is
driven solely by internationally co-authored papers. With the emergence of
global network science, which diminishes the role of national policies in IRC
and foregrounds the role of scientists, the individual scientists willingness
to collaborate internationally is central to advancing IRC in Europe.
Scientists collaborate internationally when it enhances their academic
prestige, scientific recognition, and access to research funding, as indicated
by the credibility cycle, prestige maximization, and global science models. The
study encompassed 5.5 million Scopus-indexed articles, including 2.2 million
involving international collaboration.
