The Power Shift From Public to Corporate

{
  "authors": [
    "David Rothkopf"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North America",
    "United States"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economy"
  ]
}

In The Media

The Power Shift From Public to Corporate

The balance between governments and corporations has been shifting over the last few hundred years in favor of corporate power and the international community may need to strengthen global institutions to fix the balance.

By David Rothkopf

Published on Mar 7, 2012

Source: CBS This Morning

Speaking on CBS This Morning, Carnegie's David Rothkopf explained that over the last several hundred years, corporations have gained more power and influence relative to sovereign governments. The financial crisis serves as a perfect example, he said; before, during, and after the crisis, corporations set the terms of the government's policy. While governments do occasionally strike back, Rothkopf argued that a balance needs to be found. One potential solution is giving institutions of international governance more teeth.

About the Author

David Rothkopf

Former Visiting Scholar

David Rothkopf was a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment as well as the former CEO and editor in chief of the FP Group.

Recent Work

In The Media
How Bush, Obama, and Trump Ended Pax Americana
- David Rothkopf
In The Media
A Bigger Clubhouse
- David Rothkopf

Economy North America United States

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Paper
Confronting the Barriers to AI Diffusion in the U.S. Military
The Pentagon is calling for a rapid AI transformation. Autonomous drones offer a case study in the eight bottlenecks the U.S. military must navigate to realize that vision.
Jake Steckler
Commentary
Emissary
The Migration Wave That Embarrassed Morocco and Rattled Europe
Most migrants may have left Ceuta, but the effects may linger.
Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Sarah Yerkes
Commentary
Emissary
Five Years After His Power Grab, Tunisia’s President Has Only Achieved Failure
Saied’s main accomplishment has been to destroy a decade’s worth of democratic progress.
Sarah Yerkes
Commentary
Emissary
The Drone Attack on Egypt and the Widening Middle East War
The targeting of Damietta Port appears to be more than a mere security message.
Amr Hamzawy
Commentary
"I Don’t Think Trump Wants to Pull America Out of NATO"
Does Donald Trump want to redraw the map of the world? Historian and geopolitical thinker Stephen Wertheim tries to parse the logic behind current American foreign policy
Stephen Wertheim

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

An AS3 interceptor part of the Merops, an AI-powered anti-drone system is pictured during a NATO live-fire demonstration of a counter-UAS system on November 18, 2025 in Nowa Deba, Poland.

Paper

Confronting the Barriers to AI Diffusion in the U.S. Military

The Pentagon is calling for a rapid AI transformation. Autonomous drones offer a case study in the eight bottlenecks the U.S. military must navigate to realize that vision.

Jake Steckler

People standing on rocks in the ocean near the shore, with soldiers in the foreground

Commentary

Emissary

The Migration Wave That Embarrassed Morocco and Rattled Europe

Most migrants may have left Ceuta, but the effects may linger.

Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Sarah Yerkes

Shadowed figure lighting grocery store shelves

Commentary

Emissary

Five Years After His Power Grab, Tunisia’s President Has Only Achieved Failure

Saied’s main accomplishment has been to destroy a decade’s worth of democratic progress.

Sarah Yerkes

Commentary

Emissary

The Drone Attack on Egypt and the Widening Middle East War

The targeting of Damietta Port appears to be more than a mere security message.

Amr Hamzawy

Commentary

"I Don’t Think Trump Wants to Pull America Out of NATO"

Does Donald Trump want to redraw the map of the world? Historian and geopolitical thinker Stephen Wertheim tries to parse the logic behind current American foreign policy

Stephen Wertheim