Abstract

Humans have repeatedly fought, competed, and developed over resources. It was World War II when resource-less Japan and Germany challenged the resource hegemony of the United States and Great Britain. In addition, resources are not stable; they have changed over the course of history from coal to oil to rare earths to renewable energy.
And behind the transition of resources, there is always technology. In the past, human beings have used technology to transform mere natural materials into natural resources by giving value to natural materials that had no value, and by giving them value in the form of convenience for human beings. It was because of the lack of resources that Germany aimed to become a chemical industrial nation. And people have been competing to enclose various natural resources and develop technologies to utilize them in search of more convenience, wealth, or power. China's use of rare earths shows this.
Today, we are seeing signs of a new historical trend that will overturn this trend, one that can be called a resource transition rather than an energy transition, in which social systems and technologies will give resource value to non-natural resources. This will greatly change the balance of power in the world. This could shake up the global balance of power and bring about new competition.
What direction will the world's resources and energy take in the future, and what kind of battles and competition will this cause? By studying the history of natural resources and energy, we can look to the future with a new, large-scale world history.

Author’s Information

---