Chair in Strategic Resource Governance: Macroeconomics and Geopolitics

Its objectives are to:

•  Conduct an integrated analysis of the macroeconomic and geopolitical dynamics linked to strategic resources 
•  Improve understanding of the interactions between natural resources (agriculture and extractive industries) and development trajectories 
•  Assess the macroeconomic, financial and geopolitical risks associated with these resources, particularly in developing countries 
•  Produce policy recommendations for governments and the international community

The global economy is undergoing a phase of sustained geopolitical fragmentation, marked by intensifying conflicts, rising strategic rivalries and the reconfiguration of global value chains.

In this context, strategic natural resources—notably critical minerals linked to the energy transition and digitalisation—play a central role in international economic and security dynamics.

For many developing countries, particularly in Africa and fragile regions, the coexistence of a large agricultural sector and abundant extractive resources constitutes both:

•  a major opportunity for development financing 
•  a source of macroeconomic, fiscal and institutional vulnerabilities 

The Chair provides an integrated analysis of these issues, at the intersection of macroeconomics, natural resource economics and the analysis of financial and geopolitical risks.

Area 1 – Macroeconomics and Shock Management

Analysis of fiscal and budgetary policies in developing countries in the face of external shocks, including:

•  mobilisation of domestic resources 
•  efficiency of public spending 
•  price regulation of sensitive commodities (oil and food products) 
•  digitalisation and decarbonisation of economies (North–South relations, demand for critical minerals)

Area 2 – Natural Resources, Agriculture and Critical Minerals

Joint analysis of the agricultural sector and extractive industries, including:

•  sharing of natural resource rents (taxation, contracts, etc.) 
•  interactions between agriculture, mining and land tenure 
•  food security (price- or quantity-based policies) 
•  economic diversification and value chains 

Area 3 – Geopolitical Risks, Security and Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities

Analysis of geopolitical risks and their effects on:

•  economic growth 
•  investment flows 
•  public finances 
•  supply chains for strategic resources