Political Risk: Experience of Operationalization of the Concept

Risk is an integral element of any management activity and is inevitably associated with political activity, of which it is an integral part. Willingness and ability to take risks is the most important feature of a leader. The desire to avoid risk or minimize it generates caution and anticipation; the willingness to disregard risk translates into recklessness. The antipodes of risk are indecision in one case, adventurism in the other. Both reduce the effectiveness of management. The task, therefore, is to combine risk with sober calculation. The article attempts to operationalize this concept. Attention is drawn to the ambiguity and internal inconsistency of political risk, which can become both a factor of breakthrough success and a cause of crushing failure. The subjects and objects of political risk are identified, the main factors and causes of risk are identified, and the main methods of its assessment are given. The existing approaches to risk classification are considered. The reasons for the occurrence of a risky situation are being clarified: uncertainty, the need for choice, lack of information and time for its processing. The applied meaning of the concept of political risk is considered: it acts as a methodological basis for the formation of an informed attitude to risk and an understanding of the need to manage it.