Our baffling new multipolar world grows ever more complex, desperately calling for new ways of thinking, particularly when it comes to political risk. To Dare More Boldly provides those ways, telling the story of the rise of political risk analysis, both as a discipline and a lucrative high-stakes industry that guides the strategic decisions of corporations and governments around the world. It assesses why recent predictions have gone so wrong and boldly puts forward ten analytical commandments that can stand the test of time.
Written by one of the field’s leading practitioners, this incisive book derives these indelible rules of the game from a wide-ranging and entertaining survey of world history. John Hulsman looks at examples as seemingly unconnected as the ancient Greeks and Romans, the Third Crusade, the Italian Renaissance, America’s founders, Napoleon, the Battle of Gettysburg, the British Empire, the Kaiser’s Germany, the breakup of the Beatles, Charles Manson, and Deng Xiaoping’s China. Hulsman makes sense of yesterday’s world, and in doing so provides an invaluable conceptual tool kit for navigating today’s.
To Dare More Boldly creatively explains why political risk analysis is vital for business and political leaders alike, and authoritatively establishes the analytical rules of thumb that practitioners need to do it effectively.
"This is a compelling read, rich in insights and alternately courageous and outrageous."—A. W. Purdue, Times Higher Education
"A consistently interesting history of political risk analysis."—Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution
"John Hulsman is one of those alarming polymaths who appear to have read nearly everything, seem to remember most of it and then are able to put all that information to work, making it leap through a vast range of entertaining intellectual hoops to find answers to questions that matter a great deal, the key one being: What is really happening in the world and what does it mean?"—James Hansen, Aspenia
"[A] discursive, interesting, insightful book."—I. William Zartman, Rest Journal
"[A] discursive, interesting, insightful book"—William Zartman, The Rest
"Hulsman combines first-rate historical storytelling with extremely sophisticated political analysis—you can actually imagine him sitting in the room with the great strategists of the past. To Dare More Boldly is a brilliant and unusual book that rips up conventional thinking on the major events of world history."—James Frayne, author of Meet the People: Why Businesses Must Engage with Public Opinion to Manage and Enhance Their Reputations
"Written by one of political risk’s most entertaining, original, and mischievous thinkers, To Dare More Boldly is the ultimate guide to understanding where the world is now and predicting its future."—Tom Welsh, Daily Telegraph
"To Dare More Boldly is a monument to Hulsman’s vast erudition. In this captivating book, he examines what has gone wrong throughout history and uses those insights to formulate a general set of lessons for those who have to assess political risk—and for all of us to better judge the foreign-policy decisions of our leaders."—Teun van Dongen, Inholland University of Applied Sciences
"John Hulsman travels across history and culture to illustrate the ten rules for analyzing political risk. He deploys the Roman Empire, Crusades, Vietnam War, and even the Beatles to help business and political leaders avoid disaster in today’s increasingly complicated and unstable world."—Doug Bandow, Cato Institute
"John Hulsman dares more boldly to tell the 2,500-year journey of political risk management from the Oracle of Delphi to the age of Trump. This lively jaunt through history is a cracking read for all and offers unique insights for those of us who must navigate the uncertainties of political risk. This groundbreaking work is must reading for anyone who hopes to lead through the complexity of today’s geopolitics."—Robert H. Kahn, Automated Financial Systems
"As the world careers deeper and deeper into unpredictability, John Hulsman reminds us that it is still possible to foresee an uncertain future by learning from the past. Some of history’s most famous figures—including Tiberius, Napoleon, and Cesare Borgia—failed the analytical test, while scarce-remembered figures such as the Old Man of the Mountain and Lord Salisbury passed it. Through more than two millennia, Hulsman brings to vivid life the tenets of successful analysis: know your history, and know yourself."—Ben Nimmo, Atlantic Council Digital Forensic Research Lab
"A serious, profound, and well-researched book."—Lucio Caracciolo, LUISS Guido Carli, Rome
