Contact Info

Dr Anabel Marín

Dr Anabel Marín is a Research Fellow and Leader of the Business, Markets & State Cluster at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), and a researcher at CONICET in Argentina (currently on leave). She holds a PhD in Science and Technology Policy from the University of Sussex, a Master’s in Development from the University of General Sarmiento, and a degree in Economics from the University of Córdoba. Since joining IDS in 2021, she has developed a distinctive agenda linking critical minerals, legitimacy, civic power and green industrial policy. Her research challenges narrow framings of the energy transition by showing how mineral extraction is embedded in political contestation, territorial dynamics and shifting geopolitics, including the growing but often implicit role of military and security demand. She co-developed the first global geo-referenced dataset on conflict and cooperation related to mining, now informing several research programmes and policy debates.

A second strand of her work examines innovation systems underpinning mission-critical technologies, including vaccines, biologics and seeds , and the socio-political capabilities required for resilience, scale and inclusive governance. She has led multi-country projects on vaccine innovation (ESRC–JSPS), agrifood and seed systems (EU, IDRC, CIRAD), and food-systems transformation in fragile contexts.

Her work is explicitly interdisciplinary and policy-facing. Beyond producing academic outputs, she has worked directly with governments, international organisations and development banks, including the World Bank, IDB, ADB, ECLAC, UNCTAD, UNESCO and UNIDO,  to inform policy design, navigate trade-offs and support decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, political contestation and time pressure. This experience has strongly shaped her research agenda and her approach to knowledge for policy, including the translation of research into policy briefs, advisory reports and public-facing analysis. Her commitment to collaborative, international and policy-relevant research was recognised in 2025 with Argentina’s national Premio RAÍCES for scientific cooperation and policy impact.

 

Selected Publications：

  • Johnstone, P. and Marín, A. (2026) ‘Beyond the twin transition: Military drivers of critical minerals’ expansion’, The Extractive Industries and Society, 26: 101836.
  • Agusdinata, D.B., Marin, A., Iloeje, C.O., Matsubae, K., Kaunda, R., Sharma, V. and Coates, K. (2026) ‘Social and environmental aspects of resource extraction of energy-transition minerals’, Environmental Research Letters, 21(2): 020201.
  • Marin, A. and Palazzo, G. (2025) ‘Civic power in mining conflicts: Barrier or catalyst for a just energy transition?’, Environmental Research Letters.
  • Marin, A. (2025) ‘Contesting Mineral Extraction for Transformation: Civic Power in Just Energy Transitions’, IDS Bulletin, 56(2).
  • Marín, A. and Cunial, S. (2025) Mining Legitimacy: Governing the Politics of Resource-Based Green Industrial Policy, IDS Working Paper 623.
  • Marin, A. and Morales, J. (2025) From Extraction to Value Addition: How Capabilities and Power Shape Local Supplier Development, Institute of Development Studies.
  • Marín, A. (2025) ‘Critical minerals and the new development dilemma: What the WBG’s new strategy must get right’, Bretton Woods Project, At Issue, 11 December.
  • Marin, A. and Palazzo, G. (2025) From Dominance to Dependence: What the UK Must Learn to Build Trusted Critical Minerals Partnerships, CITP Briefing Paper.
  • Marin, A., Murguía, D. and Itoiz, K. (2024) Litio argentino: oportunidades, tecnologías y políticas para desarrollar su cadena de valor, Documento de Trabajo CENIT 06/2024, CENIT-EEyN-UNSAM.
  • Stubrin, L., Marin, A. and Murguía, D. (2023) ‘Innovation opportunities and backward linkages in mining: an analysis of Argentinean knowledge-intensive mining suppliers (KIMS)’, Industrial and Corporate Change, 33(4): 965–990.
  • Marín, A. (2023) ‘Bringing Democracy to Governance of Mining for a Just Energy Transition’, IDS Policy Briefing 213.
  • Marín, A. and Goya, D. (2021) ‘Mining – The Dark Side of the Energy Transition’, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 41: 86–88.

 

Recent Activities：

  • Organiser, international workshop The Role of Civic Power in Shaping System Change for Sustainability in Mining, IDS, SPRU and School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, 13–14 March 2025.
  • Panellist, UNCTAD webinar Unlocking Value: Opportunities and Challenges in Africa’s Critical Energy Transition Minerals Sector, 27 March 2025.
  • Speaker, CEPAL seminar on strategic territorial planning and mineral value chains, Universidad Nacional de Salta, 25–26 March 2025.
  • Speaker, UNCTAD Multi-year Expert Meeting on Commodities and Development, Geneva, October 2024.
  • Keynote speaker, 15th International Sustainability Transitions Conference (IST 2024), Oslo, June 2024.

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