Jacobin Radio The Dig: Economic Warfare w/ Aslı Bâli, Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, Nicholas Mulder
Mar 28, 2026
Nicholas Mulder, economic historian of sanctions; Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, policy expert on Gulf economics; and Aslı Bâli, international law scholar. They probe economic warfare around the US‑Israeli conflict with Iran. They trace sanctions historically, analyze choke points like Hormuz, discuss asymmetric tactics, countermeasures such as de‑dollarization, and the geopolitical and humanitarian fallout.
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Sanctions Misread Asharp Coercion
- U.S. policymakers habitually view sanctions as simple cost-benefit levers and underestimate counterparts' willingness to escalate.
- Treating geoeconomic tools as benign provocation invites economic countermeasures (rare earths, choke points) that are perceived as economic warfare.
Semiconductor Controls As A Turning Point
- Geoeconomics historically cycles between open integration and neo-mercantilist coercion; current U.S. export controls on semiconductors mark a major turning point.
- Controls against China forced accelerated indigenous industrial mobilization and long-term decoupling incentives.
Sanctions Produce Strategic Autonomy
- Sanctions often backfire: they spur targeted states to build resilience, indigenize production, and reconfigure elites rather than yield behavioral change.
- Resulting reconfigurations can strengthen adversaries for future rounds of economic conflict.
