Foreigners as Domestic Citizens: Multinational Corporations and the Nation State

Abstract

Heum, P.A. Foreigners as Domestic Citizens: Multinational Corporations and the Nation State. Coopera tion and Conflict, XIV , 1979, 35-47.

The article poses two questions: First, the extent to which the multinational corporations may exert influence on policies executed by any nation state. Secondly, how the multinationals may generate problems for nation state regulations as they are able to do transactions across national borders but still keep them within the corporation. The first question is approached by presenting a framework for dependence analysis, and illustrated with data from the Norwegian Power Study. The second question is just briefly discussed by mentioning that the activities of multinationals may complicate, undermine and generate unintended effects of state actions. The article concludes that there is no reason to treat foreign and domestic multinationals separately; that the question of multinationals is relevant to any nation state; and that the problems they engender can only be solved through international coordination of national policies. The challenge, as the author sees it, is to formulate this strategy so that the effects of local actions may be secured.