Power in the Age of the Green Energy Transition: Multinational Corporations, the State, and Cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract: This thesis investigates the power balance between states and multinational corporations, and how the green energy transition impacts this balance, a connection commonly overlooked by researchers. I have sought to remedy this gap by conducting a qualitative case study of the relationship between the Democratic Republic of Congo, which holds the majority of global cobalt reserves, and major cobalt producer Glencore. Cobalt is a critical mineral to the transition towards renewable energy sources due to its usefulness in batteries used in electric vehicles. Approaching a wide array of empirical material from a Critical Political Economy perspective, I have found that the balance of power between Glencore and the DRC has shifted, although not in a linear fashion. As the DRC has begun to take advantage of its unique situation within the shift to renewable energy sources, it has been able to improve its position against MNCs like Glencore. The DRC has reached new levels of policy autonomy through policy changes reflecting an increase in resource nationalism. This case represents a weakening of the neoliberal hegemony, breaking with norms that previously guided natural resource governance.