The Backfire Effect of Sanctions. How Sanctions Change the World Not in the Interest of the USA

Sanctions have become the primary tool of US foreign policy. Economic coercion measures, such as trade tariffs, financial penalties, and export controls, affect numerous companies and countries around the world. Some sanctions target non-state actors (e.g., Islamist terrorist groups), while others apply to entire sectors of the economy and even countries, including North Korea, Iran, China, and Russia. Do these measures achieve their intended goals, or do they only harm American interests? Agatha Demare explores the impact of sanctions on multinational corporations, governments of countries, and millions of people worldwide. The author analyzes a wide range of topics from the 'semiconductor race' between the US and China to the COVID-19 epidemic in Iran and the Special Military Operation in Ukraine and concludes that sanctions are transforming global politics and economics, diminishing US influence. States and companies seek ways to circumvent the restrictions, targeted countries’ governments unite among themselves, and China and Russia form an alternative center of gravitational pull in the world.