States and companies: political risks in the international oil industry
The study of political risk is a direct response to specific problems confronting transnational corporations (TNCs). As such, most works focus on developing predictive methodologies to forecast the incidence of political-risk events and pay scant attention to the underlying cause or theory. This dissertation attempts to begin laying the theoretical groundwork for understanding political risks by relating the analysis of political risk to a broader theory of interaction between hosts states and TNCs. Using the international oil industry as the content area, a conceptual model for the explanation of political risks is developed. The premise of this dissertation is that the structure of the host/TNC relationship gives rise to an inherent conflict of interests and issue hierarchies between the two actors. These structurally determined differences are the root cause of political risks. The articulation and implementation of host-state interests in policies constitute specific political-risk events. Political-risk events confronting transnational oil companies (TNOCs) are embodied in host-state changes in their oil policies. Policy changes, the immediate cause of political-risk events, are explained in terms of the structural relationship and conflicting interests, with the timing and strategy of changes a function of the mediating variables.
- Research Organization:
- City Univ. of New York, NY (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5224879
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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