This course looks at how geopolitical forces affect international business operations in a dynamic world. Business leaders need to know how political decisions, international relations, and geopolitical tensions affect market opportunities and operational risks across borders as globalisation faces challenges from rising nationalism, technological competition, and changing power dynamics. The course uses theories from international relations, political economy, strategic management, and international business to understand how geopolitical events affect corporate strategy, market entry decisions, supply chain design, and risk management. Students examine how countries have worked together and fought each other in the past, as well as how they are currently fighting, such as through great power competition and regional conflicts. They also examine emerging issues, such as technological sovereignty and climate geopolitics.
By analysing modern case studies across fields such as technology, energy, pharmaceuticals, finance, and manufacturing, students learn to evaluate geopolitical risk, understand regulatory fragmentation, and develop plans that balance economic opportunities with political constraints. The curriculum includes trade policy tools such as tariffs and sanctions, trade blocs and economic unions for regional integration, patterns of foreign direct investment under geopolitical pressure, and the role of international institutions in regulating cross-border trade. Students also examine how to make smart international business decisions amid geopolitical uncertainty and rapid change in the global order by examining both theoretical frameworks and real-world examples.
