How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare

by Narges Bajoghli, Vali Nasr, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

Sanctions have enormous consequences. Especially when imposed by a country with the economic influence of the United States, sanctions induce clear shockwaves in both the economy and political culture of the targeted state, and in the everyday lives of citizens. But do economic sanctions induce the behavioral changes intended? Do sanctions work in the way they should? To answer these questions, the authors of How Sanctions Work highlight Iran, the most sanctioned country in the world. Comprehensive sanctions are meant to induce uprisings or pressures to change the behavior of the ruling establishment, or to weaken its hold on power. But, after four decades, the case of Iran shows the opposite to be sanctions strengthened the Iranian state, impoverished its population, increased state repression, and escalated Iran's military posture toward the U.S. and its allies in the region. Instead of offering an 'alternative to war,' sanctions have become a cause of war. Consequently, How Sanctions Work reveals how necessary it is to understand how sanctions really work.

Genres: Iran, Economics, Politics, International Relations, Middle East, History, Nonfiction

212 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 2024

About the author

Narges Bajoghli is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. She has written for the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, the Guardian, and the Washington Post, and has appeared as a commentator on CNN, NPR, PBS, Democracy Now, and the BBC. She is the director of the documentary The Skin That Burns, screened at The Hague, Hiroshima, Jaipur, and film festivals throughout the United States.

Reviews

[Sadra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using Iran as a central case study, the book "How Sanctions Work" delves into the intricate nature of economic sanctions. It puts forward a model known as the "trilemma of economic pressure," highlighting the inherent conflict between three objectives: being effective, being politically viable, and preventing negative humanitarian impacts. The book contends that it is extremely difficult to satisfy all three of these objectives at the same time. Through a comparison of the internationally-backed sanctions before the nuclear deal and the solitary "maximum pressure" strategy, the work illustrates why global agreement is crucial for sanctions to be effective. It also reveals how such measures disproportionately harm citizens and a nation's ability to develop. Finally, the book questions the fundamental purpose of sanctions, asking if they are truly meant to alter a state's conduct or if they serve as a punitive tool to enforce the existing international hierarchy against non-compliant nations.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, written by a group of scholars, is an extended case study of the US-led sanctions regime against Iran. It looks at how sanctions have impacted Iran, the region, and the West. It also looks at how sanctions have affected the relationship between Iran and the US. Overall, I found the book to be very thorough and solid in its conclusion. The scholars argued that sanctions have largely backfired, empowering the most extreme factions in Iran, and have made it difficult for the US to negotiate. They also demonstrate that sanctions have not changed the Iranian government's behavior in the desired direction. The early chapters talk about how sanctions have empowered the military and hardliners, but the author rely on long-form interviews to support this conclusion. While it is definitely plausible, I would have liked to see this assertion backed up with more quantitative evidence. Failing that, I would have liked more information about how interview subjects were chosen. I have read another book by one of the authors that was based on this type of ethnographic research, and I thought it was interesting, but the author doesn't pay much attention to methodology, so it wasn't clear to me how widespread her interview subjects' concerns were.

[Adam DuBard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really excellent book about sanctions using Iran as a test case. Full disclosure, I am a SAIS grad and took Professor Bajoghli's class in graduate school (which was one of my favorites), so I was predisposed to like this book from the start. However, this book is an excellent look at sanctions regardless of my biases. I've read about sanctions over the past 6 years quite extensively, and this book tackled a lot of angles that I have not seen covered frequently in other analyses of sanctions. Looking at the truly personal impacts of sanctions was really impactful, and I also enjoyed the later chapters on how sanctions on Iran are completely counterproductive to what the US claims it wants to accomplish. Whether you're a novice or expert on sanctions, I think this book will be worth your time. An added bonus, it's only around 150 pages, so it's a quick read packed with useful and insightful info.

[Sahand Yazdanyar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 9/10

This book brings together some of the foremost scholars on Iran (from various academic backgrounds) to discuss one of the most obfuscated tools in U.S. foreign policy: sanctions.

While I found some of the points made throughout the work a bit repetitive, it is an approachable book for those just diving in to Iran and/or sanctions while also posing deeper questions for individuals with greater background. The analysis is backed up by qualitative and quantitative data — it is clear the authors anticipated pushback from bad faith actors.

The release of this book couldn’t have come at a better time. Hopefully it can serve as a guide (or at least a warning) for future academics, policymakers, etc. working on Iran.

[RoPlo28 · Rating 5 out of 5]

antropology-international relations interdisciplinary masterclass that really puts the rational actor model approach in its place when we think of 'success' in sanctions? Are they successful in their own right, are they successful relative to other strategies of coercion/persuasion? All the answers are here. Economic statecraft is sexy because it gives the guise of action and condemnation and you don't have to see the consequences for everyday people on the ground

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with many of Bajoghli et al.’s conclusions about the utility of sanctions, but I wish they had distinguished between collective and individual sanctions. I also didn’t understand much of the economic data underpinning the argument, but it seemed not to explain the extent to which the IRGC and other elements of the Iranian elite have benefitted from the sanctions.

[J. Scott Frampton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read that provides a fresh perspective on sanctions, and their uses in modern levers of national security. Some bias is present throughout the book, but it does not detract from the larger message.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

academic

[Matthew Petti · Rating 5 out of 5]

review forthcoming in Reason Magazine

[Leila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very redundant very educational

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Prolonged comprehensive sanctions regimes distribute pain and death so widely that they function as an invisible war.”

[Arta · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’re so cooked

[Narg · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a good eye-opener against the narrative that sanctions are peaceful actions. However, it’s very sad that the book carries the same message as the imperialist propaganda by whitewashing US crimes and puts every disastrous conflicts in the Middle East as a role of ‘Iranian aggression in the region’… to turn a blind eye to what Western imperialism has been doing to any nation in the region for centuries, while blaming them for solely their sanctions is nothing but glorifying Imperialism, colonialism and western aggressive hegemony