Governments need to move at the speed of business in a world of geopolitical change

How can organisations navigate geopolitical risk, engage credibly with governments and institutions, and maintain trust and legitimacy in an era of contested power and declining confidence in institutions?  

This is a big question, one that we unpacked at a SEC Newgate-convened roundtable with a group of C-suite business leaders. 

Discussions covered the geopolitical gains being made by China as a result of the war in Iran, and the need for business to act responsibly. We spoke about how businesses must adopt corporate diplomacy as a strategic goal - recognising and managing risks and building direct relations with key stakeholders in an era where some of the international bodies and institutions that have governed trade, business, and political alliances are now discredited or unable to act with the efficacy business needs.

In this new world, the panel agreed that “governments need to act with the speed of business” if we are to adapt to the rapidly changing geopolitical, national economic, and trade imperatives that face us today. In many places, governments are failing to do this and are instead being consumed by domestic political challenges or fighting to maintain a status quo that is not fit for the future.

While there was much discussion about who will gain strategic advantage from the fundamental geopolitical changes that we are now facing, business is seeing the impact in terms of trade, risk and future opportunity. It cannot sit on the sidelines; it has to engage and plan for sustained uncertainty. 

Achieving this requires corporate diplomacy to be the key strategic driver for managing and mitigating business risk. If you’d like to discuss how this applies to your organisation, please do get in touch.