Since the 2008 global financial crisis, increased economic, social, and corporate upheavals have left their mark on geopolitics. More recently, in the West, consensus expectations were shattered by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union followed by President Donald Trump’s victory in the United States, among other key events. In emerging markets, political shifts in Brazil, the Philippines, Turkey, and Mexico are all redefining political risk and intergovernmental relations.
Such continual change challenges the linkages between political and corporate relationships, particularly in emerging markets. Indeed, whenever companies conduct business in a fragile ecosystem, they must confront economic and reputational risks. Additionally, the interconnectedness of technology, security, and economic integration means that the manifestation of one risk is increasingly likely to influence others – often with unforeseeable impact.
In this volatile geopolitical environment, businesses and governments should devise a corporate foreign policy and crisis management capacity in order to take advantage of tomorrow’s growth economies while hedging against concomitant risks.
With a deep knowledge of corporate foreign policy, political risk, and crisis management, Amsterdam & Partners LLP boasts more than 37 years of field experience in places such as Yemen, Lebanon, Nigeria, Zambia, Russia, Georgia, Honduras, Venezuela, and Brazil. The firm has significant experience advising clients on bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, as well as crafting strategic approaches to international arbitration modalities. We believe that a company’s arbitration and preventive risk-management process represents just one aspect of its overall crisis law and business strategy, and that it must be coordinated in line with the overall client objectives.