Chokepoints

A major new work of popular geopolitics – the untold story of how sanctions are shaping our world

Globalisation was once seen as the great leveller, bringing prosperity to all. But the world has changed. Tensions with Russia, China and Iran have led to unprecedented economic retaliation from the USA and its allies. The global economy is now a weapon of war.

Chokepoints is a thrilling behind-the-scenes account of one of the most critical geopolitical developments of our time. Using extensive research, personal experience and interviews with the key players, Edward Fishman, a former top State Department sanctions official, takes us deep into the back rooms of power around the world. Here we meet an eclectic group of innovators: the diplomats, lawyers and financial whizzes who've masterminded a fearsome new arsenal of economic weapons, exploiting America's dominance in global finance and technology, and harnessing the power of Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Big Oil against their enemies.

The sanctions against Russia might be the biggest coordinated act of economic warfare we’ve seen – but it won’t be the last. We are now witnessing an economic arms race among great powers and a fracturing
global economy. The scramble for economic security will affect international politics and business for decades to come. Utterly gripping and brimming with rare insight, Chokepoints is indispensable reading to understand the past, present and future of the new world order.

‘Chokepoints is a masterful narrative of US economic warfare in the 21st century.’ Financial Times

‘A timely, riveting world tour … absorbing’ The Economist

‘A gripping, firsthand account of America’s efforts to weaponize the world economy against its resurgent adversaries. From the U.S. campaign to curtail Iran’s nuclear program to today’s cutting-edge effort to stop China from accessing AI chips,

Chokepoints is an unparalleled guide to America’s use of sanctions and export controls over recent decades. Essential reading for understanding the new age of economic warfare.’ Chris Miller, author of Chip War



‘Remarkable...One of the most important books on economic warfare ever written.’ Paul Kennedy, author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers

‘Brilliant and eye-opening—weaving together economic, geopolitical, and strategic analysis. Edward Fishman’s riveting account of the global economic ‘battlefield’ sheds fascinating new light on our struggles with Iran, Russia, and China. An indispensable book for anyone who wants to understand current and future conflicts.’ General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army (Ret.), former Commander of U.S. and International Forces in Afghanistan and author of Team of Teams and My Share of the Task

‘Brilliant, timely, and impossible to put down, Chokepoints is one of those rare books that utterly changes how you see the world. Edward Fishman pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of economic warfare, telling the untold story of how a rogue group of U.S. officials quietly reinvented U.S. foreign policy. He puts readers in the room as policymakers experiment with sanctions and other once-obscure tools to fight the biggest geopolitical threats of the day: a nuclear Iran, a resurgent Russia, and an assertive China. Combining the insider knowledge of a practitioner, the analytical insight of a scholar, and the narrative instincts of a born storyteller, Fishman has written a book that is as engrossing as it is urgent. No one seeking to understand the global economy or America’s role in the world can afford to ignore this indispensable page turner.’ Stuart A. Reid, Executive Editor of Foreign Affairs and author of The Lumumba Plot

‘Chokepoints is the best book on sanctions that I have ever read—a tour de force that illuminates in spellbinding detail how economic warfare is reshaping the world. Edward Fishman combines his deep knowledge of the subject with a dynamic, engaging writing style, recasting U.S. government technocrats as superheroes fighting high-stakes economic battles. Sanctions are at the center of geopolitical competition today. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how the world works in the 21st century.’ Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Professor at Stanford University, and author of From Cold War to Hot Peace

‘Edward Fishman has done the impossible: he has written a book about America’s strategic economic policies that is at once grand in scope, meticulously researched, and, above all, a lively and captivating read. Those interested in how the United States uses its economic power as a strategic weapon in today’s dangerous and complex world need look no further. This book is a gem.’

Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of The Ghost at the Feast and Of Paradise and Power

‘In this timely and highly readable book, Edward Fishman demystifies and humanizes one of today's most complex and consequential subjects: America’s use of economic power as a tool of 21st-century warfare. Drawing on his firsthand experience at the State Department, Fishman takes readers into Washington’s back corridors of power, revealing how U.S. officials raced to create new economic weapons to counter a trio of formidable challenges: Russia's imperial aggression, China's drive for technological dominance, and Iran's nuclear ambitions. An invaluable book for anyone who wants to understand the risks, trade-offs, and limitations of America’s weaponization of the world economy.’ Fiona Hill, former Senior Director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council and author of There is Nothing for You Here

‘This peerless contemporary history of American sanctions, grounded in personal experience and thorough research, will guide all who wish to address global problems through the responsible and effective use of economic power.’ Timothy Snyder, Professor of History at Yale University and author of On Tyranny and Bloodlands

‘How can America sustain its economic and financial advantage in the face of fierce geopolitical competition? Chokepoints provides the playbook. Edward Fishman traces the historical evolution of economic warfare, taking readers behind the scenes of the U.S. campaigns to counter China’s economic aggression, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and Russia’s revanchism. Along the way, Fishman uncovers valuable strategic lessons and makes compelling recommendations that leaders in government and business must implement urgently.’ Lt. General H. R. McMaster, U.S. Army (Ret.), former White House National Security Advisor and author of Battlegrounds and At War with Ourselves

‘This book should be required reading on both sides of the Atlantic as the West faces a geopolitical reckoning. Edward Fishman, a scholar-practitioner with deep insider knowledge from his time in government, provides a gripping account of the rise of a new form of economic warfare. Chokepoints is written with an eye to both the general and the specific, skillfully blending the Olympian big picture with wonderful vignettes of how the world economy works. Fishman argues convincingly that the West cannot have economic interdependence, economic security, and great power competition at the same time. We will have to make a choice quickly, before it is made for us.’ Brendan Simms, Professor in the History of International Relations at the University of Cambridge, Director of the Centre for Geopolitics, and author of Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, from 1453 to the Present

‘Sanctions are vital weapons in the war for global power and influence. Chokepoints is a master class in how sanctions work, and why, sometimes, they don't. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand global competition today.’ Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and author of Danger Zone 

‘Chokepoints is a compelling exploration of how economic infrastructure increasingly shapes geopolitics—illuminating the history, inner workings, and future stakes of this important 21st-century phenomenon. An excellent read for anyone seeking to understand how power will be wielded in the years to come.’ Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe

‘Deftly written, Chokepoints is a compelling and dramatic narrative about the new shape of geopolitics—one in which the U.S. mobilizes its economic and financial pre-eminence for geopolitical objectives, especially in its clashes with China, Iran and Russia. It’s the story of a world economy that has moved from confident globalization to increasing fragmentation and in which economic warfare has become “a baseline feature of our world.”’ Daniel Yergin, Wall Street Journal



"A delightful read ... for a reader looking for an accessible guide to how we got here and what is coming next, Fishman's book is invaluable." Foreign Policy

‘This is the must-read book of the month for me: Eddie Fishman’s Chokepoints. Those who write about war and geopolitics for a living are generally poor at economic warfare. This book is a great place to start.’ Niall Ferguson, author of The Ascent of Money

Edward Fishman is one of the world’s leading authorities on economic statecraft and sanctions. He teaches at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is a senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy. He previously served at the US State Department, the Pentagon and the Treasury Department, earning awards for his work implementing the Iran nuclear deal and designing and negotiating sanctions on Russia after its 2014 annexation of Crimea. His analysis is regularly featured by the BBC, Financial Times, Economist, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and he frequently writes for publications such as Foreign Affairs and Politico. He holds a BA in History from Yale, an M.Phil in International Relations from Cambridge and an MBA from Stanford.

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