Are geopolitical risks reshaping the global energy trade networks? A global perspective

In recent years, the rise of the anti-globalization wave and multiple changes in international relations have intensified geopolitical risks (GPR), which bring uncertainty and instability to the global energy market and accelerate the evolution of the global energy trade networks (GETN). Based on this, this paper portrays the evolution of GETN by constructing a weighted directed trade network with a sample of 41 countries around the world from 2000 to 2022, and explores the impact and mechanisms of GPR on GETN. The findings show that (1) GETN presents three major trade circles: the European energy trade network, the Oceania-Asia energy trade network, and the Americas energy trade network. However, the Oceania-Asia energy trade network is gradually expanding due to the different development stages and speeds. (2) GPR has weakened the centrality of countries in GETN, and the impact is mainly realized through the reduction of trade scale. (3) Financial development and the advancement of the digitalization process can provide financial support and digital risk monitoring services for countries to participate in the GETN, which mitigates the negative impact of the GPR to a certain extent. (4) Testing for spatiotemporal heterogeneity finds that the current GETN is developing towards regionalization, with the formation of the European-Americas energy trade network and the Eurasian energy trade network.