Abstract
The article examines the main theoretical approaches to the legal regulation of scientific cooperation as an independent subject of legal analysis and an object of state policy. The relevance of the topic stems from the fact that, under the globalization of knowledge, the digitalization of research and the full-scale war, scholarly interaction has become a strategic resource for the recovery and European integration of Ukraine, which requires adequate normative support. The study aims to systematize the conceptual foundations of the legal regulation of research cooperation and to clarify how different theoretical models explain the nature, limits and instruments of such regulation. Using comparative, systemic and structural-functional methods, six approaches are identified and characterized: the natural-law approach, which views cooperation through the lens of the human right to science; the institutional; the international-legal (treaty-based); the European-integration; the comparative-scientometric; and the national-legislative approach. It is shown that the legal regulation of scientific cooperation has a multilevel structure and operates simultaneously at the international, regional (European) and national levels, each using its own toolkit. An empirical analysis of recent 2023–2026 data revealed a steady increase in the share of internationally co-authored publications in OECD countries (from 22% in 2013 to about 27% in 2023–2025) and intensified participation of Ukraine in the Horizon Europe programme after the 2022 association. The findings suggest that an effective model for regulating research cooperation in Ukraine should combine guarantees of academic freedom, treaty-based mechanisms of international cooperation and the alignment of national legislation with European Union law. The proposed conclusions may be used to improve the legislation on scientific and scientific-technical activity and to shape the policy of integration into the European Research Area.
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