Scientific Cooperation and Academic Associations in Communication Studies: AE-IC and the Construction of Horizontal Ibero-American Knowledge Networks

Abstract

Academic associations play a key role in structuring international scientific cooperation in communication studies. This article analyzes the evolution and internationalization of the Asociación Española de Investigación de la Comunicación (AE-IC) as a case study of how scholarly organizations operate as infrastructures for transnational collaboration. Based on qualitative and documentary analysis of institutional materials and international initiatives, the study situates AE-IC within debates on scientific cooperation, epistemic asymmetries, and the geopolitics of knowledge. The framework combines network theory, decolonial approaches, and communication scholarship, emphasizing dialogic communication, epistemic justice, and collaboration. Findings show that AE-IC has evolved from a nationally focused association into an actor integrated into international networks, especially in the Ibero-American space. Its working groups and initiatives promote more dialogic, multilingual, and reciprocal cooperation, although structural asymmetries persist. The article proposes a model of horizontal academic cooperation based on reciprocity, epistemic plurality, multilingualism, and open science.