Economic Espionage

Economic espionage is a tried and tested tool of statecraft. Rulers have long resorted to it so as to help their own firms gain a competitive commercial advantage; strengthen national security; promote their citizens’ vital interests; and advance their geopolitical and strategic aims on the world stage. There is little scholarly work in that area. The stupefyingly extensive empirical literature on espionage tends to concentrate on state-on-state intelligence activities. This chapter provides a qualified defence of state-sponsored economic espionage against private businesses. It starts with a defence of the right to economic secrecy. It then mounts a defence of economic espionage as the acquisition of economic secrets. The final section responds to four objections.