NBR Reports

NBR Reports are occasional papers on special topics conducted by the world’s leading experts in Asian affairs.

Latest NBR Report

Critical Minerals: Global Supply Chains and Indo-Pacific Geopolitics

Critical Minerals: Global Supply Chains and Indo-Pacific Geopolitics

(November 2022)

This report from NBR’s Energy Security Program assesses the risks associated with the growing scarcity of critical minerals. The four essays focus, respectively, on the geographic concentration of critical minerals in a small number of countries (especially China), Australia’s role as a key supplier, lessons from Japan’s and South Korea’s progress in building resilient supply chains, and the outlook for the United States.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Past NBR Reports

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A Path to Net Zero: Opportunities for U.S.-ROK Technology Collaboration
September 2022
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Political Front Lines: China's Pursuit of Influence in Africa
June 2022
sr99_cover
Dynamics of Assertiveness in the South China Sea
May 2022
sr98_cover
(In)Roads and Outposts: Critical Infrastructure in China’s Africa Strategy
May 2022
sr97_cover
China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order
March 2022
sr96_cover
Meeting China’s Military Challenge: Collective Responses of U.S. Allies and Partners
January 2022
sr95_cover
Guardians of Intellectual Property in the 21st Century: The Global Supply Chain Industry
December 2021
sr94_cover
India's Energy Future: Designing and Implementing a Sustainable Power Mix
December 2021
sr_93_cover
Taiwan’s Response to Disinformation: A Model for Coordination to Counter a Complicated Threat
September 2021
sr92_cover
Investments in Energy Transition
July 2021
sr91_cover
A New Great Game? Situating Africa in China’s Strategic Thinking
June 2021
sr90_cover
Murky Waters in the East China Sea:
Chinese Gray-Zone Operations and U.S.-Japan Alliance Cooperation
May 2021
sr89_cover
Powering Southeast Asia
December 2020
Exploring India's Strategic Futures
Exploring India's Strategic Futures
September 2020
sr_87_cover
An Emerging China-Centric Order: China's Vision for a New World Order in Practice
March 2020
sr86_cover
A New U.S. Strategy for the Indo-Pacific
June 2020
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Chinese Perspectives on International Relations in the Xi Jinping Era
June 2020
sr84_cover
Networked Benefits: Realizing the Potential of 5G in South Korea
May 2020
sr_83_cover
China's Vision for a New World Order
January 2020
sr82-cover
Partial Disengagement: A New U.S. Strategy for Economic Competition with China
November 2019
sr81-cover
Revolutionizing LNG and Natural Gas in the Indo-Pacific
October 2019
sr80_cover
Securing the Belt and Road Initiative: China's Evolving Military Engagement Along the Silk Roads
September 2019
sr79_cover
Sino-Russian Relations: Perspectives from Russia, China, and Japan
May 2019
sr78_cover
The China-Russia Entente and the Korean Peninsula
March 2019
sr77_cover
Taiwan’s Potential Role in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy
March 2019
sr76_cover
Answering China's Economic Challenge
February 2019
sr75_cover
Charting a Path for a Stronger U.S.-Japan Economic Partnership
February 2019
sr74_cover
The Emerging Russia-Asia Energy Nexus
December 2018
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China-Russia Relations: Strategic Implications and U.S. Policy Options
September 2018
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Tenets of a Regional Defense Strategy
August 2018
sr71_cover
Innovation Policy and the Implications for Healthcare and the Life Sciences
March 2018
sr70_cover
The Case for U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateralism
February 2018
sr69_cover
Reconstructing Taiwan's Military Strategy
February 2018
sr68_cover
Asia's Energy Security and China's Belt and Road Initiative
November 2017
sr67_cover
North Korea and Asia's Evolving Nuclear Landscape
August 2017
sr66_cover
Russia-China Relations: Assessing Common Ground and Strategic Fault Lines
July 2017
sr65_cover
The Future of the U.S.-ROK Alliance: Change and Continuity in North Korea Policy
April 2017
sr64_cover
Japan and the Sino-Russian Entente
April 2017
sr63_cover
Asia's Energy Security amid Global Market Change
December 2016
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Taiwan: Asia's Orphan?
December 2016
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Pakistan's Strategic Culture
December 2016
sr60_cover
Australia's Strategic Culture and Asia's Changing Regional Order
December 2016
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U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateralism
July 2016
sr58_cover
Approaching Critical Mass
May 2016
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U.S.-China Relations in Strategic Domains
April 2016
sr56_cover
The Rise of Chinese Innovation in the Life Sciences
April 2016
sr55_cover
Mapping Pakistan's Internal Dynamics
February 2016
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Taiwan's Strong but Stifled Foundations of National Power
January 2016
sr53_cover
Indonesia: A Regional Energy Leader in Transition
December 2015
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Strategic Assistance and the U.S.-Japan Alliance
June 2015
sr51_cover
U.S., Japanese, and Asian Energy Security in a New Energy Era
April 2015
sr50_cover
Global Perspectives on the Continuing Evolution of India's IP Policy
March 2015
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U.S.-New Zealand Ties Returning to Normal
December 2014
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Rival Regionalisms and Regional Order
December 2014
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China's Energy Crossroads
November 2014
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Adapting to a New Energy Era
September 2014
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Myanmar's Growing Regional Role
March 2014
sr44_cover
Asia's Uncertain LNG Future
November 2013
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Beijing and the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia
June 2013
sr42_cover
China's Soft Power in East Asia
January 2013
sr41_cover
Oil and Gas for Asia
September 2012
sr40_cover
Reinvigorating the U.S.-Thailand Alliance
June 2012
sr39_cover
India's Security Challenges at Home and Abroad
May 2012
sr38_cover
Health Security Challenges in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
February 2012
sr37_cover
Maritime Energy Resources in Asia: Legal Regimes and Cooperation
February 2012
sr36_cover
Nontraditional Security Challenges in Nepal
January 2012
sr35_cover
Maritime Energy Resources in Asia: Energy and Geopolitics
December 2011
sr34_cover
Nontraditional Security Challenges in India
November 2011
sr33_cover
The United States-Thailand Alliance
December 2011
sr32_cover
Nontraditional Security Threats in Pakistan
November 2011
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Asia's Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism
September 2011
sr30_cover
Overcoming Barriers to Maritime Cooperation in East and Southeast Asia
July 2011
sr29_cover
China's IP Transition
July 2011
sr28_cover
Ecological and Nontraditional Security Challenges in South Asia
June 2011
sr27_cover
Foreign Military Activities in Asian EEZS
May 2011
sr26_covers
Toward a New Chinese Order in Asia
March 2011
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Politics, Public Opinion, and the U.S.-Indonesian Comprehensive Partnership
December 2010
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Maritime Security in Southeast Asia
November 2010
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The Intersection of Demand, Energy Markets, and Supply Routes
September 2010
sr22_cover
Muslim Grassroots Leaders and Popular Preachers in South Asia
February 2010
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Counterterrorism Cooperation in South Asia
January 2010
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Drug Trafficking and Security in Afghanistan and Pakistan
December 2009
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Development and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan
May 2011
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Secure Land Rights as a Foundation for Broad-Based Rural Development in China
November 2009
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Managing Unmet Expectations in the U.S.-Japan Alliance
November 2009
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Assessing the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue
December 2008
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Standards, Stakeholders, and Innovation: China's Evolving Role in the Global Knowledge Economy
September 2008
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The Rise of Asia's National Oil Companies
December 2007
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North Korea and Iran: Nuclear Futures and Regional Responses
June 2007
sr12_cover
Russia and the WTO: A Progress Report
March 2007
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Quantifying Innovative Strength through Improved Service Sector Metrics
February 2007
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Technology, Institutions, and Politics in the Development of China's National Standards Strategy
June 2006
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HIV/AIDS in the Muslim World
June 2005
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Asia's Rightful Place in the American Trade Agenda
March 2005
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China's Post-WTO Technology Policy
May 2004
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China and WTO Compliance: Postal and Express Delivery Services
June 2004
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Japan, the United States, and East Asia: Emerging Regional Challenges
March 2004
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The Strategic Importance of U.S.-South Korean Economic Relations
October 2003
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China's WTO Accession
November 2002
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Survey of U.S.-Japan Security Studies and International Economics
November 2001