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In the context of heightened global uncertainty, political risk management has become a critical component of strategic management in multinational corporations (MNCs). The growing instability of the global economy is reinforced by long-term pessimistic forecasts from leading international institutions, which anticipate a slowdown in population growth, GDP expansion, technological innovation, and overall productivity (Kose & Ohnsorge, 2024). This underscores the need for companies to adopt more comprehensive risk management approaches that incorporate not only economic but also political factors.

In response to these challenges, multinational corporations are rapidly adapting and transforming their approaches to political risk management. This transformation is manifested in a shift from reactive instruments to proactive nonmarket strategies, including government relations, corporate diplomacy, and political CSR, whereby firms increasingly act as political actors interacting with host-country governments, and the integration of the GR function into strategic management becomes a key determinant of organizational resilience. This indicates that the ability to build effective relationships with public institutions is essential for sustaining competitive advantage.

The integration of the political dimension into corporate strategy is of particular importance. Effective political risk management requires the alignment of corporate strategy with government engagement (Mariotti, 2025). At the same time, firms, being deeply embedded in institutional and societal structures, are capable of shaping regulatory environments, influencing the provision of public goods, and transforming business–government relations (Mariotti, 2025). This highlights that MNCs act not only as objects of regulation but also as active participants in political processes.

The complexity of the contemporary geopolitical environment imposes new requirements on risk management practices. It is important to emphasize the implications of competing geo-economic blocs and multipolar geostrategies for MNC activities, the significance of nonmarket strategies as tools for mitigating geopolitical risks and global threats, and the critical role of access to natural resources as a driver of geopolitical tensions (Patsiaouras et al., 2026). This demonstrates the necessity of incorporating geopolitical considerations as a systemic element of business strategy.

In practice, corporate political activity is gaining increasing importance. Firms intensify investments in lobbying and engagement with public authorities to reduce uncertainty, which reflects the growing role of corporate political activity as a key risk management instrument (Bretas et al., 2025). This trend indicates a shift toward more active interaction with the institutional environment.

Corporate social responsibility also emerges as an important nonmarket strategy tool. MNCs utilize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of their nonmarket strategies, while CSR and ESG practices serve as mechanisms for gaining political advantages and strengthening relationships with governments (Röell et al., 2024). This suggests that corporate social responsibility performs not only an economic but also a political function.

In this context, corporate diplomacy becomes increasingly significant. The importance of corporate diplomacy and the development of stable relationships with host-country governments is driven by the growing dependence of business strategies on political conditions (Hartwell et al., 2024). This emphasizes that effective political risk management cannot be achieved without systematic engagement with public institutions.

Therefore, political risk management in multinational corporations is evolving into a complex strategic process that integrates economic and political instruments. Key directions include the development of government relations, corporate diplomacy, and the integration of nonmarket strategies into business models. In an environment of global uncertainty, the resilience of MNCs is determined not only by their market advantages but also by their ability to effectively interact with governments and adapt to changes in the institutional environment.

political risk management, government relations, multinational corporations