Economic Systems Research

Geopolitical Tension and Global Value Chains

Geopolitical tensions are reshaping the structure and resilience of global value chains (GVCs). New forms of strategic rivalry, including competition in advanced technologies, export controls on semiconductors and critical minerals, industrial policy interventions, and shifting alliance structures, are exerting persistent pressures on cross-border production networks. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain bottlenecks, and ongoing regional conflicts have underscored the vulnerabilities inherent in globally distributed systems of production. These developments have stimulated a growing body of research leveraging input–output analysis, value-added trade frameworks, and international production data to understand the economic consequences of policy uncertainty and strategic decoupling. Building on influential tools such as the value-added decomposition, recent work has explored the implications of resilience strategies, friendshoring, supply chain diversification, changes in foreign ownership, and the evolving role of intermediary economies. This special issue aims to bring together empirical and theoretical contributions that illuminate how geopolitical dynamics are driving the reorganization of GVCs, with particular attention to the application and innovation of input–output methodologies in this rapidly evolving context.

The special issue seeks contributions that advance the empirical, methodological, or theoretical understanding of how geopolitical risks are transforming global value chains. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Value-added trade analysis under geopolitical uncertainty
• Impacts of export controls, industrial policy, and technology rivalry
• Supply chain resilience, friendshoring, and diversification strategies
• The role of intermediary economies in a reconfiguring GVC landscape
• Methods for assessing propagation of geopolitical shocks through IO networks
• Structural decompositions, scenario analysis, and IO-based modeling innovations