Why B-schools must integrate geopolitics into business curricula

In 2022, Dutch technology giant ASML faced a dilemma: should it provide cutting-edge chipmaking machinery to China, threatening to alienate the U.S., and break international sanctions? The issue wasn’t market share or margins; it was geopolitics. Such, once peripheral and exceptional, are now a daily affair. Yet top business schools neglect this crucial aspect of strategy.

The sweeping tariffs and sanctions issued by the U.S. in recent times have sent shockwaves through industries and shredded carefully laid out delivery networks. The 2020 ban on apps such as Tik Tok for national security reasons affected thousands of Indian content creators, marketers and tech entrepreneurs. These are not one-off events. They are reminders that political risk isn’t an abstract variable in today’s world but a fundamental driver of business outcomes.

According to Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, uncertainty about the source of the next geopolitical risk is no excuse for unpreparedness. Mastery over risk management and their ability to respond to crises can turn geopolitical volatility into a strategic advantage for prepared firms. Hence, “country risk analysis” is a talent that recruiters look for. Top IT companies now hire geopolitical analysts. Investment funds are now shaped as much by regulatory actions in Washington or Brussels as they are by the Indian government’s monetary policy. Prices in the stock and commodity markets move, anticipating global geopolitical developments.

Way forward

So what should B-schools do? If companies are operating in a politically risky world, then B-schools have to equip students to prepare for, understand, and respond in such environments. The first step is to include geopolitics in their general curriculum as an essential part of business strategy and not as a specialist elective. Students need to know how sanctions, treaties, and global institutions influence corporate decision-making. Second, the learning process must incorporate actual case studies of political richness, not sanitised ideal-case scenarios. Coping with corporate decision dilemmas in times of trade wars, embargoes, or transborder regulatory crises can lead to learning by experience. Third, business schools must work in tandem with schools of policy and international relations. Joint courses, guest lecturers, and interdisciplinary learning can provide insights into how global power dynamics influence economic environments. Another method could include role-playing real-world geopolitical crises. By employing war games, sanction response exercises, and crisis management workshops, students can be taught to lead not only in spreadsheets but also in uncertainty.

Today, navies patrol shipping routes, cyber legislation provokes trade disputes, and a single vote in the UN Security Council can determine the future of an entire industry. B-Scools cannot turn a blind eye to borders, politics, and power in such an environment. A B-school curriculum committee needs to look beyond “will this get our students placed?” and ask “will this equip them to lead when geopolitics is changing the ground beneath their feet?” After all, in today’s uncertain world, geopolitics is no longer an elective. It is a survival skill.

The writer is Professor, School of Business, SVKM’s NMIMS University.