Reframing Energy Security in the Clean Energy Transition: An Analysis of Cross-Border Risks and Solutions

As energy systems transition to clean energy, energy security is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Although changing geopolitical dynamics and market volatility have drawn greater attention to cross-border risks, the literature does not clearly establish how the solution to these risks varies across different energy systems. Moreover, import dependence continues to be treated predominantly as a vulnerability, despite growing recognition that, in certain contexts, interdependence in international investment and trade can enhance energy reliability and affordability. This review addresses these conceptual ambiguities by consolidating existing scholarship and examining how the framing of energy security has evolved to incorporate cross-border risks and a broader range of solutions. This is achieved through two analytical approaches: a bibliometric analysis of energy security research over the past 45 years and a systematic qualitative review of 55 selected studies. The findings highlight three main trends. First, it shows that the concept of energy security has evolved from a narrow focus on traditional energy carriers to a broader framework that includes cross-border risks in geopolitical, financial and technological aspects of the energy transition. Second, the growing role of China in energy security research and global supply chains challenges the dominant Western framing of energy security. Third, it highlights how technology choices, the pace of the energy transition, and supply-demand trade-offs limit the effectiveness of traditional solutions to cross-border risks. Thus, this study reframes energy security as less about reducing dependence and more about governing interdependence. It shows that cross-border energy trade can enhance, rather than undermine, energy security when managed strategically.