From Crisis to Resilience: A Bibliometric Analysis of Food Security and Sustainability Amid Geopolitical Challenges

Food systems are highly vulnerable to geopolitical instability, which can disrupt agricultural production, trade, and market access, ultimately undermining food security and sustainability. Unlike peacetime food insecurity driven by poverty or climate, food insecurity caused by geopolitical context involve agricultural disruptions, blockades, and deliberate famine, severely impacting civilians while undermining long-term food system resilience. This bibliometric review explores how food security and resilience under the strain of conflict has been addressed in academic literature over the past two decades, with a focus on its intersections with war, global food security, and sustainable systems. Using Web of Science database and tools like VOSviewer, we mapped thematic clusters, influential authors, publishers, and countries to understand evolving scholarly attention. Key findings highlight an increasing awareness about food being used as a tool of war, politicization of food aid, and the fragility of agricultural systems in conflict settings. The analysis also reveals a significant gap in research regarding “unconventional” food sources like black markets and underground supply chains which are sometimes more developed than traditional chains in times of geopolitical turbulence. The results highlight a growing academic interest in the fragility of agricultural systems under geopolitical stress, the management of food assistance, and gaps in understanding adaptive mechanisms such as informal or alternative supply chains. By synthesizing existing knowledge, this review identifies research priorities that can inform strategies to enhance the resilience and sustainability of global food systems in an increasingly uncertain geopolitical landscape.