Business Diplomacy
A Business Executive’s Guide to an Uncertain World
Zhang Xiaotong author Shaun Riordan author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:30th Jun '26
£37.99
This title is due to be published on 30th June, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

Riordan and Zhang share the skills, techniques and mindsets used by diplomats in both Western and Chinese contexts, and adapt them to the needs of executives and multinational corporations (MNCs).
Their guide employs real-life case studies in understanding the international business environment and:
- Examines the shift to multipolarity and the rise of permacrisis and policrisis
- Highlights the long-term approach of diplomatic strategy and how it may be applied to business
- Provides a framework for companies to understand geopolitical risks
- Offers techniques to build resilience via network-building and coalitions
Engaging with topics such as cybersecurity, the re-shoring/friend-shoring phenomenon, and the evolution of technology companies as geopolitical actors, the authors demonstrate how the diplomat’s perspective offers insights to companies looking to navigate the increasingly complex geopolitical environments of international trade and investments.
With an emphasis on practical guidance, this book would interest business executives and strategy planners, as well as diplomats and government officials.
'Riordan and Zhang have provided a brief, pointed, but above all, useful guide to the diplomatic skills business professionals will need if they are to succeed and prosper in an increasingly uncertain and transforming world.'
Paul Sharp, Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota Duluth, USA
'This volume addresses an area that has been insufficiently covered in the recent boom of contributions on geopolitics and geoeconomics. It argues that companies should develop corporate diplomacy capabilities as a means of responding to risk and uncertainty in what is becoming a less rules-based international economic order.'
Stephen Woolcock, PhD, Senior Associate, London School of Economics Trade Hub, UK
ISBN: 9781032625065
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 453g
120 pages