National security hawkishness that ignores rare mineral and semiconductor dependencies does not insulate sovereign states; it merely guarantees systemic vulnerability.
The prevailing geopolitical consensus in Western capitals insists that technological sovereignty can be achieved through subsidized domestic industrial policy alone. Yet an empirical examination of cross-border precursor chemistry and lithography supply chains tells an altogether different story.
The Physics of Mineral Interdependence
No single economic bloc possesses the geographic geology to unilaterally extract, refine, and purify the forty-eight critical elements required for modern microelectronics. True strategic resilience lies not in autarky, but in redundant multilateral pacts grounded in mutual economic accountability.
