Political Risk Intelligence for Business Operations in Complex Environments

Macro-level dynamics and modelling are well represented in the mainstream political risk literature. However, not many writings on the subject get their hands dirty in terms of revealing the hard, nuanced and practical work behind knowing what the issues might be for a specific foreign operation in a sensitive or volatile context, and how to plan for them.

provides international managers, and by extension their organisations, with a foundational understanding of political risk analysis and planning for on-the-ground operations in challenging times and places. This means having a fluid grasp of what political risk means and why it matters in the organisation’s context, and how relevant intelligence can be gathered and analysed to inform decisions and planning towards an operation’s socio-political resilience.

The book explains:

• How and why political risk manifests and the forms it can take
• Company attitudes and operational attributes as a political risk variable
• Understanding the operational implications of socio-political dynamics and trends
• Stakeholder identification and analysis for informed engagement planning
• Scenario analysis to prepare for long-term contingencies and discontinuities
• Holistic, intelligence-driven political risk management planning
• Tactical intelligence exercises to maintain awareness and inform adaptation
• Intelligence management, collection and quality control
• Ethical considerations in political risk management

Rather than being bound by conventional notions of risk, the book emphasises the dynamic relationship between a foreign operation and its host environment and milieu as a source of both challenges and opportunities to manage them. Concepts, frameworks and practices are rounded out with real-world examples and relevant lessons from the author’s experience as a political risk consultant.