Background
The recent Ukrainian Crisis, which broke out on February 24, 2022, has increased geopolitical tensions, not only in the region, but around the world. It could even redraw significantly the political map of the Eurasian continent. It has global implications on states, individuals (creating 4 million refugees!) as well as on transnational corporations. Many Western companies have ceased their operations or stopped providing services in Russia. Chinese companies that need to transport goods across the Russian territory are increasingly worried that their goods might be stopped at the border between Russia and the Central and Eastern European countries. Unprecedented harsh sanctions have been imposed on Russia by Western countries. Many transnational corporations are worried that they may become collateral damages to the war. Supply chains might be cut off. Nationalization of international establishments on Russian soil have become near possibilities. Companies are therefore faced with a particular business risk, which can be labeled as “geopolitical risks”.
Academic and policy discussions of the impact of geopolitical risks on business and economy are still in their infancy and lack clear analytical frameworks. Scholars have yet to converge on a workable definition of geopolitical risks. Yet, policy-makers and analysts largely failed to predict geopolitical risks, including the Ukrainian Crisis. Multinational companies pay a consequential price for their lack of consideration for geopolitical risks in their business decisions. The Ukrainian Crisis poses acute challenges to policy-makers, as well as epistemic and business communities. Russia’s military operation was perceived as “unprovoked,” with its strategic goal largely unknown, and its endgame difficult to predict. The unprecedented large-scale economic sanctions launched by the US, the EU and their western allies have imposed tremendous costs on Russia’s economy, whose chilling effects are increasingly felt by other economies. Multinational companies are becoming collateral damages of wars, and seek with desperation ways to adjust to their nefarious consequences.
In this special issue, we propose to launch an intellectual debate about the definition and underlying causes of geopolitical risks linking to the operations of transnational corporations and how to predict and mitigate them, with the Ukrainian Crisis as a background to understanding those risks on bushiness and economic development.
Aims and Scope
This special issue aims for a better understanding of the geopolitical risks that confront multinational companies, in general, and how they can adjust to the sanctions imposed on Russia, in particular. The extent literature on the impacts of international sanctions on MNCs is wide, yet lacks focus. The sanctions imposed on Russia is a unique opportunity to revisit the issue from the point of view of different disciplines or, preferably, from a multidisciplinary outlook. For instance, the business literature focuses on the micro-level operations of companies, whereas international politics literature emphasizes the macro geopolitical environment, without paying sufficient attention to micro-level operations of companies. State-to-state relations in regard to the imposition of sanctions deserve a new outlook as well. This special issue would contribute to building a bridge between economics, management and world politics to gain a better understanding of geopolitical risks that face firms in times of heightened international tensions.
Topics to Research
Keeping all the elements discussed above in view, the proposed special issue at the Transnational Corporations Review (TNCR), a SCOPUS indexed journal, will offer the opportunity to authors to contribute to disseminating knowledge on geopolitical risks. Contributors can then propose their research papers exploring the following and related topics:
- Definition and underlying causes of geopolitical risksand how to predict and mitigate them;
- Methodological approaches to the studiesof geopolitical risks and economic diplomacy;
- Political Economy of Transnational Corporations;
- The geopolitical risks of the Ukrainian Crisis on transnational corporations;
- The impactof international economic sanctions on transnational corporation;
- The geopolitical and financial risks facing transnational corporations;
- Spillover mechanisms from geopolitical and economic.
Special Issue Editor(s)
Xiaotong Zhang, Fudan University
zhangxiaotong@fudan.edu.cn
Erick Duchesne, Laval University
Erick.Duchesne@pol.ulaval.ca
Submissions and Deadlines
We invite potential contributors to submit their research paper immediately for a fast-track review process. The deadline for accepting submission for the special issue would be no later than April 30, 2022 for a peer-review process.
When possible, we would encourage potential contributors to submit an abstract of about 300 words as soon as possible. Your submission should include effective email and affiliation of the corresponding author and biographic information. The abstracts will be assessed by the guest editors of the special issue along with the editors of the TNCR. The contributors will be notified within one week for comments or suggestions, including the acceptance or rejection.
The publication is expected for June 2022. The subject line to submit an abstract should be “S.I. Ukraine.” Please note that the acceptance of abstracts doesn’t necessarily imply the acceptance of the paper. All submissions will go through a substantial double-blind review and revisions on a fast-track process.
