Military involvement in disaster management: Bibliometric insights into central–peripheral dynamics and historical crises

While the disaster management literature includes substantial research on the utilisation of military resources, existing studies are mostly fragmented, event-specific, or confined to thematic niches. This article, therefore, aims to (i) provide a comprehensive bibliometric mapping of scholarly work on military involvement in disaster management, and (ii) identify underexplored domains and trajectories that warrant further academic attention. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on publications indexed in the Web of Science (1991–2025). Using VOSviewer, co-authorship, citation, and keyword networks were mapped. In addition, an AI-assisted natural language processing (NLP) clustering method was applied to categorise publications into thematic domains. Manual validation was undertaken to ensure reliability. The analysis reveals that disaster management research is dominated by a few Western countries, with limited collaboration and modest military input, shifting focus from health to securitised frameworks, while gaps remain in AI, disaster diplomacy, socio-cultural aspects, and the religion–disaster management nexus. By synthesising the literature bibliometrically, this study clarifies the field's evolution and situates it within ethical, historical, and political debates, offering a conceptual reference for academics and practical, context-sensitive insights on the interactions of central and peripheral dynamics in the use of military capabilities during disaster settings.