Rare earth elements: Development, sustainability and policy issues

Rare earth elements are essential to modern life as we know it. With their exceptional magnetic and conductive properties, they enable the hardware of contemporary life to be faster, lighter, and stronger. Since the 2010 crisis precipitated in part by China's then de facto monopoly over rare earth production, diverse actors across the globe have pursued multiple and sometimes conflicting measures to transform the industry. These include efforts to open new mines, lower prices, mitigate social and environmental harms, curtail black market activity, identify substitutable elements, and achieve national-level supply security. These diverse efforts intersect with broader geopolitical, historical, and cultural struggles around the world. The outcomes of these efforts vary, though arguably few have generated intended results. Several years after the global (re)awakening to the importance of rare earth elements and the hazards associated with their production, the relationship between its industries and society, broadly defined, remains troubled in practice, poorly-conceived in policy, and under-examined in the social science literature. This special issue convenes emergent social science research into some of the development, sustainability, and historical issues surrounding rare earth elements in different times, places and sectors across the globe.