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, Middle East, International Relations, Nonfiction, History

197 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.

[Georgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tackling How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare by Narges Bajoghli, Vali Nasr, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, and Ali Vaez is no small feat, and I am incredibly grateful I read it with the support of a book club that broke down discussion over several meetings each dedicated to a chapter and then one meeting for reflection on broader implications after review of related literature and current news.

Coming from a background in biomedical research, I don't have formal training in international relations, macroeconomics, or geopolitical strategy. However, the authors do a good job of breaking down a comprehensive view of complex policy into tangible human realities, making the content more accessible for non-experts.

The authors' blend of quantitative economic data, interviews of affected civilians, and synthesizing analysis paints a picture of how policies formulated abroad translate into effects on the day-to-day life of people in Iran and potentially into policy of the government there.

My personal motivation is a long-standing interest in learning the language and culture of Iran as I have good friends who are Iranian and Iranian American. As an unintended consequence, I became increasingly aware of how international relations and sanctions create barriers to those learning objectives, alongside affecting my friends and family.

This book illustrates how sanctions function as a form of economic warfare that disproportionately harms ordinary citizens while often entrenching the very political regimes they intend to weaken. I look forward to learning more about how ways we can move forward along better paths. For anyone who, like me, hopes to see a future where international tensions are resolved with greater empathy, better understanding, and less collateral damage, reading this book (in particular with the support of a discussion group) is a good place to start.

[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.

[Young Eagle 于高鹰 · Rating 4 out of 5]

让人想起前三十年经济表现该归因于体制还是西方封锁的争论。制裁削减了伊朗的石油收入，只能靠印钱补贴出口，由此导致通货膨胀。同时，“关键产业”能获得比市场价更便宜的外汇，造成黑市上的腐败（所谓“官倒”），激起民众怨气。说服美国减轻对伊制裁的写作意图太明显，有点像策论，以至于对未来的一项预言是失败的：经济制裁确实能导致民众大规模抗议，然而依然难以造成政权更迭。奥巴马靠极限施压谈成核协议，川普以为继续施压就能谈成更好的协议，但伊朗方面觉得既然无论如何都是施压，那为什么还要跟你谈。结果是自给自足的“抵抗经济”的建立，地区进攻态势不减，还寻求建立非美元的支付体系，进一步挖全球化的墙角。幽默的是，打击石油出口反而逼迫伊朗投资制造业，部分缓解了资源型国家的“荷兰病”。

[Caroleine James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a TON about the history of US/Iran relationship starting with the Obama years and Trump I, which helped me understand how we got to the point of war in the present + how sanctions are changing the international order and laying bare the hypocrisy behind the US's "just war" and "moral high ground" shit.

[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.

[Alan Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished. Excellent analysis of what sanctions have (and haven't) done in terms of achieving US policy goals. It shows (inter alia) how sanctions overuse has helped weaken those very elements in Iranian society most predisposed to US policy goals while also enriching those most opposed to them.

[Ehsan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fascinating book to show how sanctions have failed to achieve the goals considered by the US policy makers, and failures resulting in unwanted dire consequences for the world. I liked it and recommend it.

[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

[Atharva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dry reading. Mostly talks about the impact of sanctions rather than their scope and how they work, making the title misleading. Few anecdotal experiences.

[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