Geopolitical Competition and the Politics of Critical Raw Materials, 1996-2022

Critical raw materials are central in ongoing debates about geopolitical rivalries across the social sciences. As the extraction and trade of critical raw materials, in particular Lithium, has increased over the past three decades, it has also become contested across geopolitical fault lines. This article examines how and why geopolitical competition shapes economic and security concerns in critical raw material policies, which has remained an understudied topic in international political economy. Drawing from theories about economic and weaponized interdependence, the article argues that the degree to which policies are based on economic and security concerns depends on the pressures arising from trading Lithium-related materials with geopolitical allies and rivals. The argument is explored by using a novel dataset of more than 400 critical raw material policies between 1996–2022, the production and trade of Lithium-related materials, as well as economic, environmental, and security-related factors. The main findings are two-fold. First, the article maps how countries can be grouped based on the reserves, production, and trade of Lithium. Second, a statistical analysis shows how geopolitical competition in trade shapes economic and security concerns in Lithium policies. The findings have important implications for ongoing debates about weaponized interdependence and the increasing linkage of economic and security policies in international relations.