Michael Jean

Add friend

Michael’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (319)

currently-reading‎ (6)

read‎ (390)

did-not-finish‎ (2)

Stats | More…

Michael is Currently Reading

Michael Jean is currently reading

The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book

by Travis Bradberry (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sep 29, 2026 08:25PM

Michael Jean rated a book

Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare

by Edward Fishman (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Michael Jean said: " This was a fascinating look at how the United States turned control over things like the dollar, financial institutions, and advanced technology into weapons of economic warfare. Fishman walks through how this system developed, from the failures of s This was a fascinating look at how the United States turned control over things like the dollar, financial institutions, and advanced technology into weapons of economic warfare. Fishman walks through how this system developed, from the failures of sanctions against Iraq to the development of secondary and “blocking” sanctions against Iran, where the U.S. could pressure foreign companies directly through the threat of losing access to American markets or facing massive fines, often without needing the cooperation of the foreign government involved.

It was also interesting was how much of this power came from circumstances that weren’t designed to become weapons. Bad fiscal policy had created a world absolutely flooded with dollars, making the dollar the dominant currency for international transactions. That gave American financial institutions an enormous amount of leverage. The development of technology restrictions is another fascinating example, showing that controlling access to advanced chips can be just as strategically important as controlling access to the dollar.

But this also left me wondering how effective are these weapons actually?

The stated goal of sanctions is usually to create enough economic pain to force a government to change its behavior or even collapse. But the track record doesn't seem great. Iraq is a particularly uncomfortable example, where sanctions caused enormous civilian suffering without producing the desired political outcome. And with Iran and Russia, sanctions have clearly inflicted economic costs, but neither has simply folded. There’s also a long term problem: the more the U.S. weaponizes these chokepoints, the more incentive other countries have to build alternatives to the dollar dominated system.

I also found myself noticing how favorably Fishman portrays many American officials and policies. As someone coming into this after seeing very different interpretations from people like John Mearsheimer, Robert Pape, Scott Horton, Dave Smith, and Max Blumenthal, that perspective was hard not to notice. Fishman’s experience inside the U.S. government gives him fascinating insight, but it also means the book is telling this story from a very particular vantage point.

There’s something almost cynical about the argument that we might miss economic warfare once it’s gone. The logic is essentially that, yes, sanctions can devastate civilian populations, but they’re preferable to shooting wars. Maybe. But that doesn’t make the consequences insignificant.

The biggest question I walked away with is whether America has simply discovered a better way to exercise its power, or whether it has become too reliant on that power. Technology bans, financial sanctions, and control of the dollar are incredibly powerful tools, but they work best when used selectively. If everyone knows that access can be weaponized against them, eventually everyone has a reason to build around it.

Chokepoints does an excellent job explaining how we got here. I’m just much less convinced that the weapon it describes is as sustainable as the author seems to believe. ...more "

Oct 05, 2026 01:57PM · see review