We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Managing International Risk Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2010
The capitalist himself is a practical man, who, it is true, does not always reflect on what he says outside his office, but who always knows what he does inside the latter.
– K. Marx Capital, ch. 5What is political risk?
Political risk and international political risk
“Bet only on winners, and try to get your bets in after the horse is past the post.” This is sound advice for those who like to win. The only problem is how to follow the advice.
Large firms and even private individuals face political risk in their own country by the mere fact that they exist in a political environment. Many in Hitler's Germany who ended their lives in extermination camps predicted in 1933 that they could deal with the new regime. The comings and goings of Franco, Peron, Mobutu, Amin, and many others influenced the immediate lives and fortunes of individuals and corporations far more than the fluctuations of the stock markets or the economy in general.
Ben Franklin noted that man is rarely more innocently engaged than when he is devoting his time to making money. The economic world, rough as it may be, is considerably gentler and more predictable than the world of power. And the world of politics is the world of power. Individuals and corporations who ignore economic planning and prediction may end up poorer if luck fails to smile.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.