CFIS 24 Background Paper on Panel: Investment Screening in Defense Sector: Promoting National Security and Neoliberalism

Prepared by Neil Noronha, CFIS 24 Programme Sherpa and Law Student at University of Virginia

The purpose of this Paper is to set the scene and provide the state of play and background information to the participants in the Panel.
Necessity of Investment Screening Within Defense Sector: Maintaining a competitive technological edge and ensuring critical production capacity necessitates investment screening to prevent the possibility of foreign espionage or subversion within the defense sector.

Impact of Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence on Investment Screening: From encryption to targeting, the multi-purpose uses within the defense sector of quantum computing and artificial intelligence highlight the importance of investment screening mechanisms.

Challenges Facing Investment Screening Mechanisms: Investment screening mechanisms will have to strike a balance between under- and over-inclusivity that allows countries to mitigate national security risks from investments without overburdening the private sector.