Double-Edged Sanctions

The thing about national economies is that they are international.

In our interdependent world, no country can reach its full potential by manufacturing, buying, and selling in isolation.

Economic sanctions rely on such interdependence. By tightening screws on an adversary’s economy, it is argued, one can, in a non-militaristic way, apply pressure toward a hoped-for outcome. The problem is, economic sanctions don’t always work, except when it comes to hurting the little guy – the consumer, the average Joe or Ivan. You can bet they will always feel the pinch when food and commodity prices rise.