The Multinational Firm and Geopolitics: Europe, Russian Energy, and Power

Rawi  Abdelal

Article | Business and Politics | October 2015

The Multinational Firm and Geopolitics: Europe, Russian Energy, and Power

Abstract

Multinational firms unavoidably exert influence over politics through power that is generated by both structure and process. While both political economy and management scholars address international firms, neither field has an adequate understanding of the reciprocal relationship between multinational firms and geopolitical systems. The links between multinational firms form a distinct type of international system for the private sector—one that is simultaneously enmeshed in geopolitics and international markets even as it is also autonomous from them. The scholarly literature on the power of business in politics has demonstrated how influence derives from instrumental agency as well as structural influence, but it has taken an unnecessarily restrictive view of politics and an overly materialist theory of power. Politics are about much more than government policies. In this paper I propose an analytical framework for understanding the multinational firm as a set of relationships. I then apply one key element of that approach—the relationships among firms as a direct source of geopolitical outcomes—to the natural gas trade of Eurasia in three eras that span nearly 40 years. I conclude that the influence of business on a broader understanding of politics—and not just policies—should be central to the study of international and comparative political economy.

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Government and Politics; Economics;

Format: Print

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Abdelal, Rawi. "The Multinational Firm and Geopolitics: Europe, Russian Energy, and Power." Business and Politics 17, no. 3 (October 2015): 553–576.

Italy’s March 2018 elections led to a populist government which included the right-wing League and the anti-establishment 5 Star Movement. To respect their electoral promises, the two parties came up with a budget plan which provided for a public deficit at 2.4%, a figure higher than what the previous administration had promised the EU Commission. On October 23, 2018, the EU Commission rejected such plan asking Italy to revise downwards the public deficit. The same day, Italian bond yields spoke to 4-year highs, up to 3.7% as investors questioned Italy’s capacity to repay its public long-term debt, the second highest in the EU. Would the Italian government be able to implement its plan?

Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2018

Everybody Knows: Russia and the Election

Rawi Abdelal and Rafael Di Tella

Following a contentious presidential race, Donald Trump’s 2016 election destabilized America’s status quo. Academics, journalists, politicians and the public at large examined why Trump had won. Many Americans, inside and outside the government, asserted that a state-led Russian disinformation campaign had influenced the election’s outcome. The leaders of major social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook, also conceded that state actors had probably gamed their platforms to influence American politics. Trump himself made conflicting statements, while Russian politicians asserted that American elites had rhetorically weaponized the issue of election interference to justify an unwillingness to work with their country internationally. It was hard to parse where reality ended and political rhetoric began. Post-election, the future of U.S.-Russia relations remained unclear, and the United States grappled with how to regulate cyberspace. Analyzing the 2016 election and its aftershocks helps students confront interrelated questions about business regulation, international relations, cultural identity, strategic communications, political will and the Internet. The case encourages students to consider the boundary between narrative and reality, and examine subjectivity, objectivity and power in the public and private sectors.

Keywords: Strategic industry; strategic alliances (business); Business and Government; business and public policy; business and society; Media Businesses; media content; media slant; media regulation; social media; internet of everything; government policy; politics; political campaigns; political strategy; political turmoil; government; Government Legislation; Government Regulation; Security; international business; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; News; Media; Internet; Rights; Problems and Challenges; Globalization; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Cognition and Thinking; Conflict and Resolution; Identity; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; War; Online Technology; Public Administration Industry; United States; Russia;

Citation:

Abdelal, Rawi, and Rafael Di Tella. "Everybody Knows: Russia and the Election." Harvard Business School Case 719-012, October 2018. View Details

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The Multinational Firm and Geopolitics: Europe, Russian Energy, and Power

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