When a company becomes a geopolitical player

3 episodes

Épisode 1/3

How governments are weaponising the private sector

On June 11th, 2026

6 min reading time

Cornelia Woll

Professor of International Political Economy at the Hertie School

Governments are increasingly relying on private companies, as these entities control strategic infrastructure, technologies, and flows.
They play a central role in the exercise of state power and inevitably find themselves caught up in geopolitical tensions.
Today, multinational corporations know that governments can effectively hold them accountable through legal instruments and financial sanctions.
There is a growing awareness of the need to monitor and regulate the balance of power between states and corporations.

Épisode 2/3

On June 1st, 2026

7 min reading time

Arnaud Orain

Research Director at École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)

Capitalism in the age of finitude is based on the idea that the pie cannot grow for everyone.
The IMF, in its World Economic Outlook, emphasised that rising tariff barriers and the unpredictability of trade policies were likely to weigh on growth in both the short and long term.
In periods of finitude capitalism, large monopolies emerge that perform both economic functions and exercise sovereign prerogatives.
China’s emergence as a systemic rival and the imperial ambitions of other powers make it impossible to maintain the same model used in the 1990s and 2000s.
It is becoming very difficult to preserve current levels of consumption whilst avoiding the destruction of ecosystems.

Épisode 3/3

On October 14th, 2026

7 min reading time

Tai Ming Cheung

Professor at the University of California San Diego and Co-Director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

US restrictions on advanced semiconductors imposed on China illustrate the geo-economic instrumentalisation of technology ecosystems.
These developments have given rise to what several researchers describe as a ‘technosecurity policy’.
Governments are seeking to prevent their competitors from gaining control over critical inputs, infrastructure or production capacities.
China has implemented a ‘civil-military fusion’ policy, which has since been reframed under the concept of ‘national strategic integration’.
Only the United States and China can invest simultaneously in a wide range of emerging technologies, unlike France or the United Kingdom, which are forced to focus on their comparative advantages.