【College News】
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| Figure 1. Students attentively listening to the lecture. |
On September 18, the College of Law at National Chengchi University (NCCU) invited Professor Joel Slawotsky of the Reichman University Faculty of Law in Israel to deliver a guest lecture. Professor Slawotsky’s primary research interests include international law, business law, international politics, and capital markets. His lecture, entitled “Corporations as National Security Assets: The Introduction of State Capitalism and Its Impact on U.S. Corporate Governance,” explored the evolving relationship between national security and corporate governance.
Professor Slawotsky noted that contemporary national security is no longer confined to traditional military defense but has expanded to encompass economic, technological, and ideological dimensions. Major corporations control strategic resources such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, social media platforms, and critical supply chains, and have therefore increasingly become important assets in maintaining a nation’s competitive advantage.
Professor Slawotsky noted that contemporary national security is no longer confined to traditional military defense but has expanded to encompass economic, technological, and ideological dimensions. Major corporations control strategic resources such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, social media platforms, and critical supply chains, and have therefore increasingly become important assets in maintaining a nation’s competitive advantage.
Professor Slawotsky further observed that, in recent years, the United States has gradually adopted certain elements of state capitalism. These include government acquisition of equity stakes in technology companies, the use of a “golden share” to influence major corporate decisions at U.S. Steel, and restrictions on share buybacks and dividend distributions by defense contractors. These developments suggest that the government may not only act as a market regulator but may also participate directly in corporate governance in its capacity as a shareholder.
At the same time, the government’s dual role as both shareholder and regulator may give rise to conflicts of interest, regulatory bias, and moral hazard, while also having far-reaching implications for corporate purpose, shareholder value, and shareholder activism. As corporate decision-making increasingly takes national security objectives into account, balancing government policy objectives, corporate interests, and the rights of minority shareholders will become an important challenge for corporate governance.
At the same time, the government’s dual role as both shareholder and regulator may give rise to conflicts of interest, regulatory bias, and moral hazard, while also having far-reaching implications for corporate purpose, shareholder value, and shareholder activism. As corporate decision-making increasingly takes national security objectives into account, balancing government policy objectives, corporate interests, and the rights of minority shareholders will become an important challenge for corporate governance.