This chapter presents the analytical framework used in this book to conduct the case studies on Brazil and Argentina. In doing so, it frames the rating agencies as political actors, and explores the concepts of political risk and the politics of risk. The chapter demonstrates how government ideology and the international context, defined in terms of commodity prices and US interest rates, are fundamental to understanding the political risk perceived by rating agencies in developing South American countries. Additionally, it establishes the empirical strategy to observe the politics of risk employed by S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch in their interactions with these countries.