Political Changes
The external political landscape of an organization is a reality that change leaders need to pay attention to and figure out how to engage. Even the largest of multinationals has minimal impact on shaping the worldwide geopolitical landscape and the focus of governing bodies.67 However, if they are attentive and nimble, their interests will be better served.
The collapse of the Soviet Empire gave rise to optimism in the West that democracy and the market economy were the natural order of things, the only viable option for modern society.68 With the end of communism in Russia, there was the sense that there was no serious competitor to free-market democracy and the belief existed that the world would gradually move to competitive capitalism with market discipline.
Of course, this optimism was not realized. Nationalistic border quarrels (India–Pakistan, for example) continue. Some African countries have become less committed to democracy (Zimbabwe and Ethiopia). Nation-states have dissolved into microstates (Yugoslavia and Sudan) or had portions annexed as in the case of Crimea. While American power may still be dominant worldwide, September 11, 2001 (9/11) demonstrated that even the dominant power cannot guarantee safety. Non-nation-states and religious groups have become actors on the global stage. The Middle East, north and central parts of Africa, the Ukraine, Venezuela, and Central Asia continue to be in turmoil, creating political and economic uncertainty.
Changes in the economic performance of nations have also altered the geo-political landscape. Growth in China and India, though it has slowed, continues to advance much more than twice the rate of the developed world.69 They led the world out of the 2007–2008 crash, and in some periods have been joined by other African and Asian nations that are experiencing more rapid economic growth than the developed world. However, progress in the developing world has slowed in the face of global concerns related to protectionism, trade wars, and constrained capital flows. Grinding poverty rates, though improving, are still the reality for hundreds of millions of people who live in these areas.
