Andrea Colli

Geopolitics and the World

Geopolitics, defined as the interaction between the two dimensions of the geographic/physical space, and power, has recently acquired increasing relevance, gaining growing attention by scholars and academics, but also practitioners, commentators, opinion-makers, consultants, and not least business leaders.

This has been largely the consequence of broader changes in the World’s political and economic order following the end of the Cold War and the rise of new regional and global powers, which have completely redrawn consolidated structures of power.

As a consequence of these dynamics, the political, economic, and physical control over “space” (broadly defined) has re-gained relevance, as it embodies the fundamental dimension of influence and leadership in the international balance of power. Rising (or declining) powers are indeed polities that succeed (or fail) in consolidating and increasing their influence beyond their official borders, employing a range of coercive, direct, and indirect means.

Additionally, the projection of power over space is a fundamental rhetoric of many contemporary political regimes, which makes geopolitical issues a relevant component of political messages.

Geopolitics is, in sum, now knocking at the doors of corporate boardrooms and of business schools.

Just as economic globalization has forced political leaders to adjust to the rigors of a nonstop marketplace, the pace of political events around the world requires that corporate executives take the initiative to confront the consequences of the links between geopolitics and business performance. As we enter a new phase, characterized by rising economic complexity and geopolitical divisions, forward-thinking business leaders must design and develop strategies to mitigate the longer-term risk of deglobalization. They are increasingly concerned about trade protectionism and the changing nature of corporate risk.

Increasingly forced to deal with increasing levels of geopolitically induced risk and turmoil, organizations need to be managed with innovative methodologies. The most successful multinational companies will therefore be those that make expertise in international affairs central to their operations, adopting what can best be described as a corporate foreign policy.