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

Georgiana Armenița Arghiroiu, Maria Bobeică (), Silviu Beciu () and Stefan Mann
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Georgiana Armenița Arghiroiu: Faculty of Management and Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, 011464 Bucharest, Romania
Maria Bobeică: Faculty of Management and Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, 011464 Bucharest, Romania
Silviu Beciu: Faculty of Management and Rural Development, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest, 011464 Bucharest, Romania
Stefan Mann: Research Group Socioeconomics, Agroscope, 8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-26

Abstract: Geopolitical instability poses a significant threat to food systems by disrupting production, trade, and market access, thereby undermining both food security and long-term sustainability. Unlike peacetime food insecurity driven by poverty or climate change, conflict-related crises often involve blockades, agricultural destruction, and deliberate famine. This paper conducts a bibliometric review of the academic literature from 2010 to 2024, and partially 2025, to examine how food security and resilience under the influence of conflict have been conceptualized, focusing on their intersections with war, global food systems, and sustainability. We used the Web of Science database and tools such as VOSviewer version 1.6.18, Microsoft Excel and Bibliomagika version 2.10.0, to map thematic clusters, identify influential authors, publishers, and academic partnerships and trace the evolution of scholarly attention on this topic. Our findings reveal a growing recognition of using food as a tool of war, the increasing politicization of food aid, and heightened awareness of the fragility of agricultural systems under conflict. At the same time, significant gaps still persist, particularly in the study of “unconventional” food systems such as black markets and informal supply chains, which often sustain communities during crises but remain underexplored in mainstream scholarship. By identifying these gaps, this review outlines research priorities for developing inclusive and resilient policies, ultimately enhancing the capacity of global food systems to withstand the pressures of conflict and geopolitical instability.

Keywords: zero hunger; food security; sustainable systems; geopolitical instability; resilience; black markets; agricultural disruption; alternative supply chains; famine; bibliometric analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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