Geopolitics and Geostrategy

1.5 Credits · Level: Graduate

Global business is being reorganized by geopolitics. The liberal world order built on open markets and multilateral rules has fractured into a system defined by state competition. The United States, China, Europe, and a more assertive Global South are competing for control over critical technologies, supply chains, and markets. Firms must now navigate an environment of geopolitical risk that can reshape markets and disrupt operations overnight. Competitive advantage increasingly depends on the ability to anticipate and respond to that risk. This course is organized around three key themes. We begin with geopolitical shocks: events such as political instability, conflict, and global crises that disrupt the business environment. We then examine geopolitical policy choices, focusing on how states use tools like industrial policy, trade restrictions, and sanctions to influence economic outcomes. Finally, we explore geostrategy, analyzing how firms adapt their market and nonmarket strategies to manage risk and capture opportunity in a geopolitically complex world. Throughout the course, students apply analytical frameworks, including PESTLES analysis, scenario planning, and IA 3, to real-world cases and simulations, developing the tools to assess geopolitical risk, anticipate policy shifts, and design strategies that are robust in the face of political and economic change.