JUN KAJEE: How US foreign policy trades support for strategic minerals
New deal grants the US preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral resources
For decades American foreign policy has been defined by military interventions, security guarantees and ideological alliances. These features can be traced back to Cold War theatres in Vietnam and the Korean peninsula, as well as more recent engagements in the Middle East. The US has frequently leveraged its military might to shape the world order, often in pursuit of democracy, continuity or the containment of rivals.
However, a new era is emerging — one where economic partnerships, especially those tied to critical minerals, increasingly define the terms of US engagement abroad. This shift is starkly illustrated by the landmark US-Ukraine minerals deal signed on April 30, which grants the US preferential access to Ukraine’s rich mineral resources in exchange for Washington’s continued financial backing, signalling a transformation in the logic of American diplomacy. No longer is support simply a matter of security or ideology; it is now explicitly transactional, with critica...
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