From Atomic Cooperation to Lithium Supply Chains: A Historical Analysis of US-Argentina Energy Relations

Abstract

This thesis examines the historical evolution of US-Argentina relations within the framework of US diplomacy and regulatory control in Latin America, tracing the shift in strategic mineral priorities from uranium during the Cold War to lithium in the contemporary period. Approaching this topic through the lens of energy history, this work argues that transition was driven by two connected forces: technological necessity and the changing methods of how the US exerts influence. As Cold War nuclear priorities gave way to a digital revolution driven by rechargeable battery technology, and as the United States' primary strategic rival shifted from the Soviet Union to China, so too did the resources at the center of US hemispheric influence.

Drawing on a body of English and Spanish primary sources, including bilateral agreements, congressional hearings, diplomatic cables, intelligence reports, and presidential speeches, this thesis demonstrates the Monroe Doctrine, first articulated in 1823, has been continuously adapted to serve evolving US strategic interests, including the control of critical mineral resources. The relationship between the US and Argentina during the Cold War is a case study into US designed regulatory frameworks, standards, and technical assistance which the US later recycled to advance its interests in Argentina's lithium sector. While the US crafted the terms of these relationships, Argentina was not a passive actor. Argentina cultivated its own institutions, preserved degrees of political autonomy, and leveraged its mineral wealth to pursue economic and diplomatic goals.

To describe these dynamics, this thesis introduces the concept of lithio-diplomacy — the strategic pursuit of lithium through diplomatic, regulatory, financial, and commercial instruments — as a contemporary parallel to petro-diplomacy. As China has consolidated its dominance over the global lithium supply chain, including investments in Argentina's lithium-producing provinces, the US is moving to reassert hemispheric influence through critical mineral policy. Ultimately, this work argues that energy has functioned as a mechanism through which the US organizes and projects power, and that Argentina's mineral wealth places it at the crossroads of an enduring and intensifying global competition.