From efficiency to security driven global chains: Conceptual implications for policy making

Contemporary global production systems are increasingly shaped by geopolitical rivalry, supply chain disruptions, and the resurgence of industrial policy, exposing the limitations of efficiency-oriented approaches. This article develops a structured conceptual framework for understanding the evolution of economic chain thinking and its transition toward a strategic orientation. While earlier approaches emphasized specialization, cost minimization, and global efficiency; recent developments have shifted attention toward resilience, economic security, and state intervention. Building on the evolution of supply chains, value chains, global value chains, and global production networks, the article examines how geopolitical fragmentation and geoeconomic competition have transformed the governance of economic chains. We argue that the emerging Strategic Turn reflects a broader reconfiguration of state-firm relations, in which global economic chains increasingly function as instruments of resilience, power projection, and national development. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative research design combining an integrative review of the specialized literature with the analysis of selected strategic sectors to illustrate the proposed conceptual framework. The framework is applied to critical minerals, semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries, showing the Strategic Turn does not manifest uniformly across industries: critical mineral emphasizes critical dependencies and strategic bottlenecks; semiconductors highlight hybrid state-firm coordination; while electric vehicle batteries illustrate regional fortress factory dynamics. The article advances a conceptual contribution that strengthens theoretical debates in the economic sciences while offering policy-relevant insights into the evolving role of the state and industrial policy under conditions of chronic international uncertainty.