Corporate Foreign Policy
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The geopolitics of business risk, strategy, and crisis management from Amsterdam & Partners LLP.
Corporate Foreign Policy
4y ago
This week Burundi’s National Assembly announced the “unexpected” death of President Pierre Nkurunziza at the age of 55 due to a heart attack.
Though speculation is swirling that he actually succumbed to COVID-19 — intensified by rumors that his wife was flown to Nairobi after testing positive for the virus over a week ago — the critical question for Burundi’s future is not how Nkurunziza died but who will succeed him and when.
Successions in Africa, especially following a presidential death, are rarely smooth or predictable, and whoever ends up as acting or interim president usually ..read more
Corporate Foreign Policy
4y ago
Argentina defaulted for the ninth time on Friday, May 22
Last Friday’s deadline for Argentina’s high-wire negotiations with creditors passed without a restructuring deal or a critical $500 million interest payment, placing the country in default for the ninth time in its history.
Though this situation is not unfamiliar for Argentina, ballooning debt among countries struggling to respond to the coronavirus pandemic means Argentina will be the first of many to face a debt crisis in the coming months and years. To preserve their interests, creditors must face this new reality with the u ..read more
Corporate Foreign Policy
4y ago
Has the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated nationalism in Europe? European leaders join the fundraising video conference, European Commission Audiovisual
Last month, 24 foreign ministers from all continents issued a statement entitled “The COVID-19 is a wake-up call for multilateralism”, claiming the world needs strong global cooperation and solidarity to fight the pandemic. This statement came after a number of countries closed their borders, imposed travel bans and export restrictions, among other measures. Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at Harvard University wrote: “The ..read more
Corporate Foreign Policy
4y ago
A customer uses an Ecobank Transnational ATM. Photographer: Adrienne Surprenant/Bloomberg
At a time when multilateralism has been undermined, the COVID-19 pandemic calls for a surge of international cooperation and solidarity. Although the world is witnessing the closing of borders, the virus itself knows no borders. To stem this pandemic, calls for solidarity with Africa have multiplied around the world, notably a letter published in the Financial Times and co-signed by world leaders to “call for an urgent debt moratorium and unprecedented health and economic aid packages”.
The leaders emphas ..read more
Corporate Foreign Policy
4y ago
Can African Elections Move Forward During a Pandemic? A voter, wearing a mask, in a polling station in Gao, Mali, March 29, 2020. Souleymane Ag Anara / AFP
Elections postponed due to the coronavirus crisis are happening around the world. In the context of COVID-19, at least 47 countries across the world have decided to postpone the elections and 14 countries have decided to maintain the elections as initially planned despite the sanitary crisis. In Africa, seven countries — South Africa, Tunisia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Ethiopia and Kenya — opted for the adjournment of the elections wh ..read more
Corporate Foreign Policy
4y ago
COVID-19 is significantly reshaping our world with a considerable impact on the ground rules of intercontinental geopolitical relations. The COVID-19 outbreak is exacerbating the disparities between countries, which are not all benefiting from a solid health system that could provide a reliable safety net for the population. Countries affected by serious threats such as: armed conflict, political instability and natural disaster, among others, are particularly vulnerable. In this respect, Africa is a major concern.
In the face of the global threat posed by COVID-19, the World Health Organisati ..read more
Corporate Foreign Policy
5y ago
La reciente estela de casos de corrupción en América Latina ya desbordó ríos de tinta. Pero vale la pena preguntarse qué consecuencias reales y a largo plazo puede ella tener en el clima de inversión en la zona y más concretamente sobre qué preguntas debe hacerse quien en ella invierte a la luz del prisma de la política exterior corporativa de cada compañía u empresa.
Varios escándalos de corrupción -como el de Lava Jato en el Brasil- han tenido repercusiones en países no latinoamericanos. Pero comenzaron como investigaciones originadas en los propios países donde habían ocurrido actos ilícito ..read more
Corporate Foreign Policy
5y ago
Panama City, PanamaThe favor enjoyed by the dozens of countries in the Central American and Caribbean region (CAC) in Washington ebbs and flows. Indeed, successive US-bound migrant caravans from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and elsewhere these last several months have received no less than cruel contempt from the present US administration, a vindictive departure from the optimism that marked the Obama administration’s approach. The resulting conversation has focused almost exclusively on the perceived hopelessness of the region’s struggle against crime, poverty and various other migration ..read more