Quand une crise en cache une autre : la « crise des terres rares » entre géopolitique, finance et dégâts environnementaux

Abstract

The expression “rare earth crisis” was used by a collection of actors in the United States, Europe and Japan to describe the situation created by the 2010-2011 surge in the global market prices of 17 metals occupying a strategic place in many industrial sectors and the fear that supplies would be disrupted following China’s adoption of export quotas. Yet this crisis – described both as a trade crisis and a geopolitical one – concealed a financial operation and major damage to the environment. This article adopts several perspectives to study what may be described as “interwoven crises”, paying special heed to J. Roitman and M. Dobry’s call to be attentive to the processes by which crises are labelled in addition to their dynamics and effects. Analysis is further enhanced by extending the timeframe of the analyzed circumstances, thus providing a better grasp of their longer-term dynamics and re-situating these critical situations in their temporal and spatial contexts.