Acute geopolitical tensions are reshaping the very foundations of international relations and trade, often turning critical resources into weapons of global power play.
By Dr Maria Alesina Senior Research Fellow, European Liberal Forum
Acute geopolitical tensions are reshaping the very foundations of international relations and trade, often turning critical resources into weapons of global power play. The carefree days of Europe benefiting from ‘cheap energy from Russia, cheap goods from China, and cheap security (and technology) from the US’ are clearly and undeniably over. The EU, which used to be the main beneficiary of the liberal world order, now risks becoming the main loser of the decline thereof. This leaves the EU face-to-face with the total collapse of its comfort zone and an urgent need for geopolitical maturity and long-term vision.
As big and medium actors across the globe are now pursuing their own, increasingly aggressive or protectionist agenda, reliable access to essential resources can no longer be taken for granted. Securing access to the indispensable becomes even more challenging in view of Europe’s declining global competitiveness, immediate security threats, the demanding green and digital transitions, as well as negative demographics. In today’s deeply interconnected yet conflict-ridden world, the interplay between geopolitical considerations and the need for resources is likely to become one of the most existential of Europe’s future concerns.
At present, the EU is in danger of being left behind by more assertive and ambitious powers. In this increasingly hostile environment, a resource-mindful geopolitical strategy cannot only be about de-risking and diversifying supply sources. Instead, it must also be about shaping a proactive global stance and magnifying Europe’s own productive forces. Immediate scarcity of resources or unreliability of supply chains could in fact push the EU to generate and better manage its own resources while actively forging new synergies and partnerships that reinforce its global agenda. Europe has what it needs to build on but it needs to go further and faster.
In the latest issue of the Future Europe Journal – Geopolitics of Resources, we address the very heart of the matter: how can Europe secure access to what our economies and citizens need – not only to survive but to advance and set the agenda in this new reality?
While the 21st-century ‘essentials’ range from food and critical raw materials to human resources or technological know-how, where does Europe stand and how should it adapt in order to avoid major disruptions? Reflecting the multifaceted nature of these questions, in this journal, we explore the complex interrelations of foreign, security, and economic policies with other key global domains such as technological innovation, education, and demographics.
The combination of all these issues highlights the geopolitics of resources as a growing economic and security concern. In the pages of ELF’s journal, academics, industry leaders, and experts from the EU and beyond bring up controversial subjects and analyse them in all their complexity. Crises are known to push the EU forward and make it stronger. The current crisis of resources holds the potential to put the Union through yet another trial by fire – allowing it to shed its old skin and realise its true potential. With a strategic and united approach, the EU will emerge renewed and much better equipped for the new global era.
