The Rare Earths Era Strategic Metals. Dependency & World Order

This book examines the pivotal role of 17 rare metals that are crucial for the production of a vast array of high-tech products used worldwide—from smartphones, televisions, computers, and medical scanners to components of the most advanced weapons systems.

Rare earth elements are of critical importance for strategic planning, whether in business, the fight against climate change, military operations, or achieving dominance in the global hierarchy. They are called rare earth elements because of the low levels of concentration in which they occur, making their extraction difficult and environmentally devastating. The miraculous properties of these elements impart peerless qualities to other materials, such as supermagnetism, extraordinary hardness or strength, unique luminescence or fluorescence, and specific conductivity. The world as we understand and enjoy it today is completely conditioned by technologies that would be impossible without these elements—without which we would inevitably bid farewell to our modern way of life.

These rare earth elements hold the key to a deeper understanding of some of the most pressing geopolitical questions of our time:

• How did the world become so dependent on Chinese rare earths?

• Will they provide China with a geopolitical advantage?

• Will the reliance on rare earth elements impact the transition to clean energy?

• What is the environmental impact of rare earth elements?

• What is the role of strategic minerals in the process of dedollarization?

• Will we witness new wars fought over rare earths?

• Do Western politicians truly understand their significance?