Joel Skousen

Joel Skousen is a political commentator and author who publishes the World Affairs Brief, a newsletter focused on geopolitical risk and security analysis. He is relevant to commodity and mining investors primarily through his commentary on global conflict, supply chain disruption, and precious metals as a hedge against systemic risk. His work is not investment research in the traditional sense, but it addresses macro-level forces that move commodity markets.

Skousen's background is in political science and military service rather than finance or geology. He served as a USMC fighter pilot during the Vietnam War and later built a career writing and speaking about survivalism, national security, and what he views as growing global instability. He was the Constitution Party candidate for President of the United States in 2024. His published works include books on secure home design and strategic relocation.

His analysis centers on the thesis that escalating great-power conflict — particularly involving Russia, China, and the Middle East — will drive demand for hard assets, especially physical gold and silver. He has been publishing geopolitical forecasts for decades, including long-standing predictions about conflict with Russia. For resource investors, his commentary touches on how war, sanctions, and political instability affect energy markets, precious metals, and mining jurisdictions. However, he does not typically analyze individual mining companies, deposits, or project economics.

Investors should approach Skousen's work as one data point on geopolitical tail risk rather than as mining or commodity analysis. He offers a macro narrative for why someone might hold gold or exposure to resource stocks, but he does not provide the company-level diligence — such as management quality, NPV (Net Present Value — what a project's future cash flows are worth today), or resource grades — that mining stock selection requires.