Introduction
Ever since investments brought about considerable foreign presence within countries’ economies in the early twentieth century, they have given foreign actors potential access to, or control over, assets critical to the national security of host states. Yet, the definition of the types of investments, of assets, and of investors considered to constitute a security problem has evolved continuously, undergoing a considerable expansion in recent decades. Whereas a century ago security-related action was mostly restricted to the wartime seizure of enemy assets, such as mandated by the US Trading With the Enemy Act (TWEA) of 1917, by now even peacetime foreign investment in social media companies might be identified as a security threat by the powerful Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This entry provides a brief overview of the ways in which foreign investment has been securitized and of the security mechanisms that have been developed to address...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bussmann, M. (2010). Foreign direct investment and militarized international conflict. Journal of Peace Research, 47(2), 143–153.
Buzan, B., Wæver, O., & de Wilde, J. (1998). Security: A new framework for analysis. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Pub.
Casey, C. A., Fergusson, I. F., Rennack, D. E., & Elsea, J. K. (2019). The international emergency economic powers act: Origins, evolution, and use. Congressional Research Service – Reports, (R45618). Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R45618.pdf
Cimino-Isaacs, C. D., & Jackson, J. K. (2019). CFIUS reform: Foreign investment national security reviews. Congressional Research Service – In Focus, (IF10952). Retrieved from https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=
Cohen, B. J. (2009). Sovereign wealth funds and national security: The great tradeoff. International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944–), 85(4), 713–731.
Cohn, T. (2016). Global political economy (7th ed.). New York/London: Routledge.
Esplugues, C. (2018). A more targeted approach to foreign direct investment: The establishment of screening systems on national security grounds. Revista de Direito Internacional, 15(2), 439–466. https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v15i2.5365.
GAO. (2018). Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States: Action needed to address evolving National Security Concerns Facing the Department of Defense (No. GAO-18-494). Retrieved from United States Government Accountability Office website: https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/693010.pdf
Graham, E., & Marchick, D. (2006). U.S. national security and foreign direct investment. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Griffin, P. (2017). CFIUS in the age of Chinese investment. Fordham Law Review, 85(4), 1757–1792.
Hasnat, B. (2015). US national security and foreign direct investment. Thunderbird International Business Review, 57(3), 185–196. https://doi.org/10.1002/tie.21693.
Jackson, J. K. (2013). Foreign investment and national security: Economic considerations. Congressional Research Service – Reports, (RL34561). Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL34561.pdf
Jackson, J. K. (2019). The committee on foreign investment in the United State (CFIUS). Congressional Research Service – Reports, (RL33388). Retrieved from https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo109795
Kim, R. (2019, April 16). Analysis: CFIUS Scrutiny Forces Chinese Sale of Grindr. Retrieved July 31, 2019, from Bloomberg Law Analysis website: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bloomberg-law-analysis/analysis-cfius-scrutiny-forces-chinese-sale-of-grindr
Lenihan, A. T. (2018). Balancing power without weapons: State intervention into cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Li, Q. (2008). Foreign direct investment and interstate military conflict. Journal of International Affairs, 62(1), 53–66.
Parello-Plesner, J., & Duchâtel, M. (2015). China’s strong arm: Protecting citizens and assets abroad. Abingdon: Routledge.
Pinto, P. M., & Zhu, B. (2018). Brewing violence: Foreign investment and civil conflict (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. ID 2998123). Retrieved from Social Science Research Network website: https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2998123
Rickards, J. G. (2009). Economic security and national security: Interaction and synthesis. Strategic Studies Quarterly, 3(3), 8–49.
Saha, S. (2012). CFIUS now made in China: Dueling national security review frameworks as a countermeasure to economic espionage in the age of globalization. Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business, 33(1), 199.
Shields, J. (2018). Smart machines and smarter policy: Foreign investment regulation, national security, and technology transfer in the age of artificial intelligence. The John Marshall Law Review, 51(2), 279–308.
Sorens, J., & Ruger, W. (2014). Globalisation and intrastate conflict: An empirical analysis. Civil Wars, 16(4), 381–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698249.2014.980529.
Wakely, J., & Indorf, A. (2018). Managing national security risk in an open economy: Reforming the committee on foreign investment in the United States. Harvard National Security Journal, 9(2). Retrieved from https://harvardnsj.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/WakelyIndorf_CFIUS_05.28.18.pdf
Wehrlé, F., & Pohl, J. (2016). Investment policies related to national security: A survey of country practices (OECD working papers on international investment, 2). https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlwrrf038nx-en
Wehrlé, F., & Pohl, J. (2018). Current trends in investment policies related to national security and public order. Retrieved from Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation website: http://www.oecd.org/investment/Current-trends-in-OECD-NatSec-policies.pdf
Further Reading
Esplugues, C. (2018). A more targeted approach to foreign direct investment: The establishment of screening systems on national security grounds. Revista de Direito Internacional, 15(2), 439–466. https://doi.org/10.5102/rdi.v15i2.5365.
Lenihan, A. T. (2018). Balancing power without weapons: State intervention into cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Wehrlé, F., & Pohl, J. (2016). Investment policies related to national security – A survey of country practices (OECD working papers on international investment, 2). https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlwrrf038nx-en
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Friedmann, V. (2023). Securitization of Foreign Investments. In: Romaniuk, S.N., Marton, P.N. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Global Security Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74319-6_628
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74319-6_628
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-74318-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-74319-6
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences