Talk by Jewellord Nem Singh,International Institute of Social Studies at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, on Navigating the New Geopolitics of Central Asia: Kazakhstan and its Place in Emerging Supply Chains of Critical Minerals

Cambridge Central Asia Forum invites you to a talk by

Jewellord Nem Singh, International Institute of Social Studies at the Erasmus University Rotterdam

on

Navigating the New Geopolitics of Central Asia: Kazakhstan and its Place in Emerging Supply Chains of Critical Minerals

Date: 9 February 2024

Time: 11am-1pm

In person: Venue: Room SG2, Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DT 

Online: Zoom Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrf-uhrz8sG9ToxANGS2trU5JbGLSpmw-A

Abstract: The new geopolitical context, marked by strategic competition between China and the US, is increasingly becoming salient for host states of critical raw materials (CRMs). As one of the most understudied region in the world, Central Asia is likely to play a vital role in managing tensions and facilitating cooperation amidst the external changes. The guest seminar will provide a preliminary picture on how Kazakhstan, one of the most CRM-rich country in the region, is responding to growing demands for its minerals within the supply chains of CRMs and clean energy technologies. Specifically, it will examine the histories of mineral and oil-based development in Kazakhstan, and analyse the extent to which a new industrial strategy might be possible to enhance the share of participation of Kazakhstan in this new supply chain. Importantly, I provide an overview of the prospects and challenges in designing an industrial strategy that is consistent with its overall orientation of promoting a multi-vector foreign policy towards great powers in the region. I will conclude by outlining our research agenda as part of the wider ERC programme on supply chains of CRMs and energy transition.

Biography: Jewellord T. Nem Singh is an Assistant Professor of International Development at the International Institute of Social Studies. He is the Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant Green Industrial Policy in the Age of Rare Metals (GRIP-ARM). His most recent publications include Business of the State: Why State Ownership Matters for Resource Governance (Oxford University Press, 2024) and The Politics of Designing and Negotiating Industrial Policy: Prospects and Challenges of State-led Development in the 21st Century (Routledge, Forthcoming).