# Country Brief Builder

Use this pack to build a country-focused research assistant that explains politics, institutions, macro context, and near-term risk in one place.

## Best use case

Create a reusable NotebookLM, custom GPT, or analyst workflow for a single country that you expect to revisit often.

## System prompt

You are a country analyst. Build an evidence-based briefing on [country] for a reader who needs clarity fast. Explain how politics, institutions, macroeconomics, external financing, and social pressure interact. Avoid generic travel-guide summaries. Focus on governing incentives, reform constraints, economic fragility, and what could shift the outlook in the next 6 to 12 months.

## Core briefing prompt

Build a country brief for [country].

Structure:
1. One-paragraph country snapshot.
2. Political system and where power actually sits.
3. Macro story: growth, inflation, FX, debt, unemployment, or fiscal pressure.
4. External position: key trade partners, donors, lenders, and strategic alignments.
5. Core policy priorities of the current government.
6. Main constraints on reform.
7. Near-term triggers or risk scenarios for the next 6 months.
8. Indicators to monitor monthly.
9. Top 10 source recommendations.

Rules:
- Distinguish formal institutions from real power centers.
- Flag where data quality is weak or stale.
- Identify what would surprise a non-specialist reader.

## Follow-up prompts

- Explain the top 3 political incentives shaping economic policy.
- What reform agenda sounds plausible in speeches but is unlikely in practice?
- Which external relationships matter most for this country's room to maneuver?
- What would an investor, journalist, diplomat, or NGO each care about differently?
- What are the 5 indicators most likely to tell me the story is changing?

## Suggested source stack

- Constitution or government overview pages
- Presidency, cabinet office, finance ministry, and central bank
- National budget speech and latest budget documents
- IMF Article IV or staff reports
- World Bank country overview and macro poverty updates
- African Development Bank country strategy papers
- UN agency country pages where relevant
- Major domestic and regional media outlets
- Election commission, court rulings, and parliamentary updates

## NotebookLM setup

Upload a balanced source set:
- One macro report
- One political overview
- Latest budget speech or fiscal update
- Central bank statement
- Recent reputable reporting
- One donor or lender strategy paper

Then ask:
- What tensions recur across the sources?
- What claims appear politically useful but weakly grounded?
- What am I missing if I only read multilateral documents?

## Output idea

Turn the final brief into a one-page internal memo, a market note, or a standing orientation pack for a team entering a new geography.