This paper summarises current and emerging trends in aquisition- and ownership-related policies to safeguard essential security interests . Its main purpose is to identify the contours of the class of policies that address acquisition- and ownership-related risk, retrace the overall trends and evolution of these policies, position acquisition- and ownership-related policies in relation to adjacent areas, highlight challenges that policy design and implementation meet, and set out how reforms and future initiatives could help respond to these challenges.