Description
Control over critical minerals has proved to be a fundamental dimension of the geopolitical competition between the United States and China. Among them, lithium is particularly valuable for the energy transition as a key input for lucrative electric vehicle markets.
Securing control over lithium supply chains has become a priority for both U.S. and Chinese Administrations and private companies operating within their economies. But international competition also faces the domestic political realities in countries where critical minerals are located and extracted. In these countries, conflicting political and economic interests seeking investment and power add another layer of competition which can shape relationships both internally and externally.
Taking Argentina as a case study, this research explores the complex interplay between federal and provincial governments in the extraction of lithium and how this conditions relationships between Chinese and U.S. competition. Drawing on works that explore the political economy of extractivism, this research presents a twofold contribution: analysing the subnational level, an area generally unexplored; and incorporating international influences over extractive models, which have been largely explained solely by domestic factors.