Workshop Description:
The world is entering a new energy era marked by a global push for decarbonization and the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources. This shift is driving up demand for strategic — or ‘green’ — raw materials while intensifying geopolitical competition. Countries in the Global South, particularly in Latin America and the Maghreb, find themselves at the heart of these overlapping and often contradictory pressures: on the one hand, they are becoming increasingly attractive as suppliers of critical minerals such as lithium, copper, and phosphates; on the other hand, demand for fossil fuels remains high, and new technologies are extending the life of oil and gas extraction. This dual dynamic reinforces historical patterns of extractivism and dependency while opening up new questions about development pathways, power shifts, and the potential for structural change. Which states and social groups benefit from the new scramble for resources? Who resists or seeks to transform extractivist models? How are countries in Latin America and the Maghreb repositioning themselves economically and diplomatically in response to the energy transition and renewed geopolitical rivalries? And what roles do China, the EU, and the US play in shaping these transformations?
This workshop invites our fellows to engage critically with these issues from interdisciplinary and historical perspectives. We examine the geopolitical and geoeconomic implications of the energy transition, the risks of ‘green extractivism,’ and the opportunities and challenges for progressive change in resource-rich regions.
Workshop sessions include discussions on:
- the political economy of extractivism and global resource chains,
- shifting alliances among China, Europe, and the Global South,
- the role of strategic minerals such as lithium and nickel,
- historical lessons from past energy transitions,
- and the influence of international finance and climate governance.
Case studies focus on Chile, Argentina, Cuba, Morocco, and broader regional trends, aiming to unpack how local, national, and global actors shape — and contest — the energy transition. Together, we ask: under what conditions can the Global South turn the promise of the energy transition into genuine development and social justice rather than repeating cycles of dependency and inequality?
Workshop Venue:
Gut Junkernhof, Zum Junkernhof 1, 34379 Calden
Workshop Program:
Monday, 30.06.25
until 12:00h Arrival
12:00 – 13:30h Lunch
13:30 – 15:30h
• Hans-Jürgen Burchardt: Introduction to the Workshop
• Hannes Warnecke-Berger: The Political Economy of Extractivism and the Geopolitics of Commodity Trade
• Veronica Robert: Who is winning the race of energy transition? Industrial policy and managed markets in clean energy techs
15:30-16:00h Coffee
16:00-18:00h
• Beatriz Calzada Olvera: Geopolitical Tensions and Latin American Critical Mineral Producers: Positioning Amid Trade Wars and Geopolitical Uncertainty
• Julian German: Corporate Power in Transition: Mapping German-Chilean Green Extractivist Networks
18:00-19:00h Dinner
19:00-20:00h
• Luiza Cerioli: Geopolitics and fragmented partnerships? The EU’s foreign policy and reconfiguration ties with South America
Tuesday, 01.07.25
until 9:30h Breakfast
9:30-11:30h
• Bertram Lang / Rachid Ouaissa: Morocco and the geopolitics of the green rentier state
• Mustapha Majidi: Morocco at the crossroads of power: geopolitical issues and challenges of an energy transition
11:30-13:00h Lunch
13:00-15:00h
• Gabriel Rivas: Land rent, National Lithium Strategy, and Industry in Chile. The dark side of electromobility
• Siran Huang: Geopolitical Dynamics and the Transformation of Argentina’s Lithium Industry
15:00 -15:30h Coffee
15:30-17:30h
• Youssef Cherif: Extractivism and Authoritarian Neoliberalism: The Gulf in the Maghreb
• Eglis Marta Astorga: The Cuban nickel industry: geopolitics and decarbonization
17:30-18:30h Dinner
18:30-20:30h
• Valeria Manzano: When an Energy Transition met Cold War Politics: Latin America in the “long 1960s” (online)
Wednesday, 02.07.25
until 9:00h Breakfast
9:00-11:00h
• Rocío Caballos: Shaping the Future of Climate Finance: The NDB and World Bank Group in a Shifting Global Order
• Johann Eschenburg & Hannes Warnecke-Berger: Financialized Assets and the Geopolitics of Consumption
11:00-12:30h Farewell Lunch
