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Unique among the world's countries, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan had abandoned the traditional policy goal of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in favor of pursuing Gross National Happiness (GNH). Famously, Bhutan ranked highly on lists of the happiest countries in spite of a tumultuous history, a low life expectancy, a dismal literacy rate, a small and undiversified economy, and low GDP per capita. Everyone, it seemed, from tourists and Hollywood screenwriters to leading development economists, looked to Bhutan for enlightenment and perspective on crises both personal and global. GNH had become the country's brand and suggested a possible future for capitalism. Was Bhutan on to something? Was there really a tradeoff between growth and happiness, and, if so, was it acceptable? In early 2014, Bhutan's newly minted Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay was faced with these questions as he deliberated on whether to approve a massive new Bhutanese-Indian hydropower collaboration that experts argued would provide energy, foreign exchange, and invaluable jobs, but which also risked undermining the country's brand as well as its happiness.

In early 2013, Norway was by many accounts the world's most developed country; it topped various indices for everything from democracy to happiness, had a comprehensive welfare state, and massive oil revenues endowed it with a substantial, and growing, Sovereign Wealth Fund. The governing coalition, anchored in the historically near-hegemonic Labour Party, had embraced peacemaking activities abroad and increasingly freer immigration policies at home, pursuing an aim of "liberal multiculturalism" that had invited both accolades and increasingly hostile criticism. More recent years had seen a change of government and falling oil prices, but Norway continued to top world development indexes. Now, in 2017, however, citizens of the country questioned both the government's decision to turn a blind eye to ethical considerations in its pursuit of exports, and to environmental concerns in drilling for ever more oil and gas in fragile arctic ecosystems. Was there such thing as enough?

This case explores the dynamic set of political risks raised by a local-partner contract renewal within the context of Syria's unfolding political upheaval. Cambell Technologies, a US-based software firm, was evaluating whether to renew its licensing agreement with Elevate, its Damascus-based distributor. Elevate's strong sales performance and sound management seemed to justify a renewal of its agreement, but the possibility of political change in Syria added potential new variables to Campbell's calculus. The case protagonist, Steven Fox, CEO of risk assessment and advisory firm Veracity Worldwide, had to evaluate the risks at play and advise Campbell's CEO on whether to renew its relationship with Elevate Software Solutions.