Geopolitics of Critical Raw Materials In the Emerging Multipolar Order: Small States Between Competition and Strategic Autonomy

Lađevac, Ivona (2026) Geopolitics of Critical Raw Materials In the Emerging Multipolar Order: Small States Between Competition and Strategic Autonomy. In: Squaring the Circle: The New Global Dynamics. Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade, pp. 75-79. ISBN 978-86-7067-373-1

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Abstract

The accelerating energy transition and intensifying technological competition have transformed critical raw materials into one of the central pillars of power in contemporary international relations. Minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements are no longer merely economic resources; they have become strategic assets essential for the functioning of renewable energy systems, digital infrastructures, and advanced industrial production. As a result, access to and control over these materials increasingly shape patterns of cooperation, competition, and structural dependency within the emerging multipolar order (Overland, 2019). This development reflects a broader shift from classical geopolitics toward geoeconomics, where states pursue strategic objectives through the control of supply chains, investment flows, and technological ecosystems. Within this evolving landscape, the role of small and resource-endowed states is being fundamentally redefined. Traditionally perceived as peripheral or structurally dependent actors, these states are now becoming focal points of great-power competition, exposed to overlapping pressures from external actors seeking to secure stable access to critical resources. At the same time, this repositioning opens up new, albeit constrained, opportunities for agency. Small states may leverage their resource endowments to negotiate between competing partners, extract economic benefits, and enhance their strategic relevance. However, such strategies are accompanied by significant risks, including deepening dependency, governance challenges, and exposure to geopolitical fragmentation. The Western Balkans—and Serbia in particular—illustrate these dynamics in a particularly pronounced way, as emerging resource potential intersects with competing external engagements and ongoing processes of regional and European integration. Against this backdrop, the paper examines whether small states should be understood primarily as objects of geoeconomic competition or as actors capable of pursuing limited forms of strategic autonomy in the geopolitics of critical raw materials.

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