by Ian Bremmer
First published 2009
Political upheaval strikes without warning, and global markets pay the price. Companies lose billions when governments seize assets, wars erupt between nations, or weak leaders collapse under pressure. Ian Bremmer and Preston Keat reveal how these disasters happen far more often than investors expect. The 2008 confrontation between Georgia and Russia caught businesses off guard, but such crises represent a pattern, not an exception. Political instability creates a fat tail of catastrophic risk that spans from stable democracies like the United States and Japan to volatile regions including Iran, China, Russia, Turkey, Mexico, and Nigeria. The authors map the landscape of political dangers that threaten international commerce, from terrorist attacks to government takeovers of private property. They provide practical tools for analyzing and managing these risks, drawing lessons from historical precedents to help corporations and investors navigate an unpredictable world.
Genres: history, business, political-science, politics, economics, non-fiction
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: China, Georgia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey, United States
Period: 2008
272 pages · Hardcover · Oxford University Press