Globalization was once expected to make national borders less important. As money, technology, data, and trade flowed more freely across countries, many believed governments would gradually lose some of their ability to control events beyond their own territory. Instead, something rather different has happened. Powerful states have found new ways to extend their influence, using access to financial systems, technologies, markets, and critical infrastructure to enforce their national laws far beyond their own borders. In recent years, similar patterns have appeared in areas ranging from international sanctions to technology regulation and environmental policy.

Michael Jensen spent much of his life asking one of the most important questions in modern business: What makes companies work well, and what causes them to fail? For decades, his ideas shaped how corporations were managed, how executives were paid, and how investors judged success. Some praised him as one of the most influential thinkers in modern finance. Others blamed his theories for encouraging corporate greed, soaring executive compensation, and an obsession with shareholder value. Few economists have had such a powerful influence on the financial world.