Egypt is in crisis. After Tunisia, now Egypt is rocked by a popular uprising, and the outcome of the so far peaceful protests is still uncertain. This unstable and developing political situation has brought me the perhaps perfect background for today’s book review: A Short guide to Political Risk by Robert McKellar. Every firm with a supply chain that sources globally or operates internationally is exposed to political risks that may be very different from what they are used to domestically, where political risks often limit themselves to de-regulations and re-regulations of business sectors, tax cuts or tax hikes or sudden environmental measures or security enforcements following major events or changes in government. On the international scene such and  perhaps even worse changes can come abruptly and without warning, not because they cannot be foreseen, but because the firm usually lacks the tools and the knowledge it needs to anticipate and react coherently to political risks.
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