Security and strategic natural resources: the case of the lithium

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to disseminate the results achieved through the research project entitled “Natural resources and their link with internal and international security. The case of lithium”, financed by the Research Council of the Catholic University of Salta and carried out within the framework of the Institute of International Relations and Political Sciences of the Faculty of Legal Sciences of said house of higher studies. The work lasted in its development for twelve months (March 2021-February 2022), and sought to achieve the general objective of "analyzing the existing links between natural resources characterized as strategic and the security of the States in the current global context, focusing the analysis on lithium”. The research focused on the case study of lithium mineral, a resource whose demand has grown exponentially in recent years and whose industry has among its current protagonists the areas that make up the so-called Lithium Triangle, which includes the Argentine provinces of Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca.