For these and many other reasons, communities and nations often find themselves wishing to attract multinationals while also fearing the consequences because they know that the underlying sets of interests may be in
fundamental conflict. Some nations, such as Canada, where foreign ownership
in many sectors of industry runs at levels well over 50 percent,
have formally recognized that such conflicts exist and have tried, without
success, to codify the conditions under which the multinationals will be
allowed to operate within their domains (Exhibit 9.4). However, there is
a dilemma in that the more a host government attempts to control the
practices of the multinationals, the less attractive their investment in that
country becomes. Hence, multinational and nation-state often end up in a
relation of dominance and dependency, or as rival power blocs, each
attempting to shape the conditions under which the other is to operate.