Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare
by Edward Fishman
How did the U.S. transform the global economy into a powerful weapon, upending decades of globalization to take on a new authoritarian axis—Russia, China, and Iran? In Chokepoints, former State Department sanctions official Edward Fishman reveals how America has redefined economic warfare—moving from blockades and sieges to financial sanctions and digital controls.
Fishman takes readers behind the scenes of U.S. foreign policy over the past two decades, where an unlikely group of diplomats, lawyers, and tech-savvy officials built a formidable new arsenal targeting authoritarian regimes in Russia, China, and Iran. As Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Ayatollah Khamenei wreaked havoc on the world stage, mavericks within the U.S. government built a fearsome new arsenal of economic weapons, exploiting America’s dominance in global finance and technology.
Successive U.S. presidents have relied on these unconventional weapons to address the most pressing national-security threats, for good and for ill. Through gripping stories and sharp analysis, Chokepoints explores the rise of economic statecraft, its successes and failures, and how it’s reshaping the global order.
Join us for a timely discussion on this powerful account of America’s economic battles and the future they’re forging.
Join us each month to discuss a pre-selected book presenting a foreign policy topic. First Wednesday of each month (12pm).
We are proud to partner with the Loudoun County Public Library who makes available multiple copies of this book for checkout at the Rust Library.