FDD Morning Brief Winning the sanctions war | feat. Peter Doran
Mar 20, 2026
Peter Doran, an expert on Russia, Ukraine, and sanctions policy and author on sanctions evasion, explains the Red Queen metaphor for sanctions. He outlines how Russia and Iran share evasion techniques, why sectoral sanctions can lose effectiveness, and why targeting shadow fleets and using stronger secondary measures matter.
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Sanctions As A Red Queen Race
- The Red Queen metaphor explains why sanctions feel like running to stand still against Russia and Iran.
- Peter Doran found the regimes learn from each other on evasion tactics, requiring policy adaptation beyond past approaches.
Apply Secondary Sanctions Aggressively
- Use secondary sanctions more aggressively to raise the stakes for third-party enablers.
- Doran argues secondary measures cut off bankers and accountants that enable evasion and leverage US economic power effectively.
Bankers And Tankers Are The Weak Links
- Bankers and tankers are the fundamental choke points for sanctions evasion.
- Doran describes Russia renting portions of Iran's shadow fleet and using Moscow-based middlemen to route oil and funds around sanctions.