The extent of governmental involvement in their national economies goes to the very heart of political and economic debates that have raged since time immemorial, and as such can seem to be an issue on which opinions are clearly and irrevocably set. However, the last few years of political upheaval has shown that those sands can, and do, shift.

The last few weeks have arguably accelerated this momentum, albeit in response to a punctual threat: governments have torn up what were perceived as immutable rules of economic engagement in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The question is whether the genie can be put back in the bottle.

Working with David Chmiel, geopolitical commentator, business advisor and co-founder of Global Torchlight, we dispel four commonly-held misconceptions about the nature of nationalization policy, (each of which has been disproved by governments’ responses to the current crisis), namely:

1. Misconception One: Nationalization risk is limited to countries with weak political and legal systems
    
2. Misconception Two: Nationalization policies focus on natural resources companies
    
3. Misconception Three: Nationalization is driven only by economic concerns
    
4. Misconception Four: Nationalization is carried out only by expropriation

Report by Baker McKenzie