Eterna’s book club explores what the weaponisation of economic policy means for communicators in today’s world order
‘Great Powers once rose and survived by controlling geographic chokepoints. American power in the globalised economy relies on chokepoints of a different kind’
In an era defined by geopolitical friction, the battlefield has shifted. The soldiers and tanks of old have been replaced by economic sanctions, technology export controls and command of energy markets. In his timely book Chokepoints, Columbia Professor and former US State Department policy guru Edward Fishman explains how the complex and often opaque world of modern economic warfare is now the primary arena for global power competition. For businesses and communicators navigating this volatile landscape, the book explores how we got here and how better to understand the new paradigm.
Fishman suggests moving away from reactive, ad-hoc sanctions towards a proactive and strategic doctrine. The proposed establishment of a ‘Department of Economic Rule’ underscores the book’s core argument: economic power must be coordinated, pre-emptively planned, and wielded with the same discipline as military force. The alternative is a dangerous diminishment of Western – namely US – power.
The New Arsenal: Finance and Technology
Chokepoints details the evolution of sanctions from blunt instruments to sophisticated tools that leverage the West’s key strengths. The US dollar’s status as the global reserve currency is its most powerful weapon, allowing it to exert immense pressure through the banking system without firing a shot. However, Chokepoints issues a stark warning: this dominance is fragile. It is underpinned by trust in U.S. institutions, and any erosion of that trust risks accelerating the de-dollarisation trends the book cautions against. The book further cautions that the overuse of these tools is inherently dangerous, a point that is underscored by the growing indistinction between sanctions and other protectionist measures like tariffs. This weaponisation of economic policy is already prompting a global trade realignment that actively undermines US power. With the current administration’s attacks on the Federal Reserve’s independence, the book provides a timely reminder of taking US economic hegemony for granted.
But, as the global economy evolves, the chokepoints that control it do so too. Silicon Valley has emerged as the powerhouse for the technological innovation that fuels modern economies. By controlling key intellectual property and semiconductor technology, the US can effectively dictate terms to global supply chains. Lose this power, Fishman argues, and there goes the US’s power with it.
Technology will continue powering our economies – controlling it will remain a priority for the US, China, and any country seeking to influence global outcomes. As the AI revolution marches on, leading the race to set global standards for emerging technologies will be front of mind of governments across the world. And while it is governments who seek to control these chokepoints, private businesses are at the centre of this global economic warfare.
The Crucial Role of the Private Sector
A key takeaway for communications professionals is the book’s exploration of the role the private sector plays in economic warfare. Chokepoints makes it clear that sanctions, embargoes, and export controls affect businesses first and foremost. Many of them at the centre of the global economy are caught in a Catch-22, where profit-seeking and the national security of their home countries are often at odds with one another. As the world economy becomes increasingly politicised, companies will be driven as much by reputational risk as by regulation. Corporate communicators must work closely with internal risk teams to anticipate new threats and the disruption they bring. Operating in a niche or seemingly obscure sector is no guarantee of staying out of the international spotlight and, when that spotlight comes, it can place significant pressure on customers, supply chains, personnel, and profitability.
Companies are now caught facing conflicting pressures from governments, shareholders, and their own supply chains. The book recounts the efforts made by European companies to keep Russian oil and gas flowing, as well as American chipmakers’ concerns over the exports embargo to Huawei. “It’s the economy, stupid”, political strategist James Carville famously coined. And indeed, it is the economy, but a re-imagined version where profits are not an end-all, be-all – national security is also a key consideration too. Communicators must realise this, to ensure their search for profits doesn’t end up as a reputational disaster.
A Strategy for a Fragmented World
Economic warfare is now inescapable, and countries need to make the most of the tools at their disposal to have the upper hand. Chokepoints argues, however, that overusing sanctions may have undesirable effects – it can accelerate the creation of parallel systems, pushing adversaries closer together. We have seen how sanctions on Russian energy imports have brought Russia closer to China and India. We are also starting to experience the emergence of digital currencies as an alternative to traditional financial processes – the weaponisation of the financial system can push countries to explore these alternatives. Economic warfare and sanctions present both a threat and an opportunity, demanding a more nuanced and forward-thinking approach from policymakers.
For us, the book provokes critical thinking about the narratives shaping this new era. It moves beyond the binary framing of conflict and highlights the multidimensional chess game of economic statecraft. The lesson for business leaders is clear: in a de-globalising international economy, geopolitical risk is now one of the top threats to corporations that are multi-jurisdictional.
Understanding where your organisation sits in relation to these chokepoints – whether it is in finance, tech, or energy – must now be front of mind for any communicator and reputation manager. How do you counsel your business on pushing back against a geopolitical objective without becoming a target? Is your sector – be it semiconductors, energy, or finance – now a primary front in this conflict? The central objective now is to anticipate geopolitical risk. This will enable the company to either adapt its operations to mitigate the threat or have a robust plan ready to execute. This begs the critical question: what new skills and capabilities must businesses invest in to deliver this resilience? While many are already beefing up risk teams with political analysts, this new reality demands further focus in expertise such as supply chain mapping, strategic forecasting, and stakeholder engagement.
The book makes the case for building reputational resilience through advanced scenario planning, not just as a risk audit but as a foundation for narrative management. For anyone involved in shaping corporate or public policy strategy, this book is an indispensable resource for understanding the forces that will define the global economy for decades to come.
