In Western democracies, decades of privatization, liberalization and internationalization appear to have reduced the role of states in the economy. But the 2000s have seen states return, only this time as foreign investors. The most prominent have been massive sovereign wealth funds, many from the Middle East or Asia, that have taken stakes worth up to $9 trillion, often encouraged by policy makers in recipient countries. The state is back but in a new form that we call 'internationalised statism'. Why would Western governments welcome these sovereign wealth funds into their economies? Do they see them as benign and useful or as economic and national security threats that should be resisted? Governments' policy responses have varied. Britain has welcomed these overseas state funds with open arms. France and Germany have done so more cautiously and directed their investments. The United States, supposedly the most liberal and open economy, has been more reluctant to attract these funds. This book charts the growth of sovereign wealth funds and analyses the very different responses of national governments. It shows that their diverse strategies have roots in domestic politics and political institutions as policymakers use overseas state funds to tackle economic problems that they once addressed within national borders. The book's findings reveal that the liberalization and internationalisation of financial markets not only constrain states but can also empower them. States can cross borders as investors. In turn, national policymakers in recipient countries use overseas state investors as new tools to pursue strategies for governing their domestic economies. Thus, internationalised statism is central to understanding the room for state action in the 21st century. Book jacket.