The post World War II era yielded a period of reconstruction and prosperity across vast swaths of the Western world. This process happened in parallel with that of decolonization across Asia, Africa and the Americas. As waves of democratization suffused large portions of the world, optimism grew and a sense of empowerment increased. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 signaled, in the eyes of the Western world, the beginning of the era in which the principles of free enterprise and the Western model of democracy had proved itself the dominant ideological force. American and European companies were able to spread their wings across many parts of the world where they were previously not very deeply engaged in and in return, companies from countries such as China and India were able to profitably work with their Western counterparts. For the moment, at least, geopolitics was relegated to the realm of forgetfulness, especially for the generations that had little direct connect with how geopolitics (e.g., the two World Wars) can shape national economies, commerce and corporate policies.
However, the world seems to have entered into a time of epochal shift in terms of how geopolitics can impact national economies and societies. As the Western bloc and the Kremlin grapple with respect to Ukraine, sanctions and counter-sanctions are extracting their price over companies in Russia and many parts of the European Union (EU). When the then President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, declared refusal to sign an EU association agreement in November 2013, few people would have predicted that it would come to effect fruit exporters in Greece, in terms of exports to Russia, over half a year down the line. In an interconnected and enmeshed world, the spread of risks and unintended consequences is extremely quick and even unpredictable. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the age of eternal vigilance is upon corporations in terms of monitoring global geopolitics and their impact on sales and profitability. Globalization of economic opportunities includes cross-pollination of negative impacts from hitherto purely local problems, as well!
However, the world seems to have entered into a time of epochal shift in terms of how geopolitics can impact national economies and societies. As the Western bloc and the Kremlin grapple with respect to Ukraine, sanctions and counter-sanctions are extracting their price over companies in Russia and many parts of the European Union (EU). When the then President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, declared refusal to sign an EU association agreement in November 2013, few people would have predicted that it would come to effect fruit exporters in Greece, in terms of exports to Russia, over half a year down the line. In an interconnected and enmeshed world, the spread of risks and unintended consequences is extremely quick and even unpredictable. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the age of eternal vigilance is upon corporations in terms of monitoring global geopolitics and their impact on sales and profitability. Globalization of economic opportunities includes cross-pollination of negative impacts from hitherto purely local problems, as well!
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