The global transition to electric vehicles: decoding the politics

The transition to electric vehicles over the 21^st century will be intertwined with the domestic and global politics in mutually influencing ways. The speed and pathways to transition for each country will be shaped by, and in turn to varying degrees influence, their domestic politics and political economy as well as geopolitical and trade relationships.

Domestic politics, reflected in the appetite within governments for climate or environmental action, will influence the creation or lack thereof, effectiveness, and durability of various policies aimed at supporting the EV transition. Domestic and international political economy will manifest in the tradeoffs between climate targets, the economic and political costs (and benefits) of a coerced industrial transition, and national security concerns associated with foreign dependence for EVs and the battery supply chain.

In turn, the EV transition will engender a global scale reconfiguration of the geography of vehicle manufacturing and their supply chains potentially impacting the geoeconomic capabilities of nation states. Moreover, as the world makes a substantive shift in dependency from oil to minerals and batteries, resource power will putatively move from oil-rich to mineral-rich countries and engender ramifications for the geopolitics of 21^st century.