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The Sanctions Age
The Sanctions Age is a podcast that explores how sanctions are changing the world.
Twenty years ago, the U.S. Department of Treasury had imposed sanctions on fewer than 1,000 companies and individuals. Today, more than 10,000 entities have been targeted.
Leaders around the world are imposing sanctions in response to wars, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, human rights violations, and technological competition. As a result, a growing list of countries are targeted by sanctions, export controls, and investment restrictions, including China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and Syria.
The Sanctions Age invites the people who understand sanctions best—economists, historians, lawyers, policymakers, and journalists—to explain their use and significance. Understanding sanctions is the key to understanding politics and economics today.
We are living in The Sanctions Age.
The Sanctions Age
Russia’s Commitment to Austerity Under Sanctions
Russia is one of the world’s largest economies. It’s a top energy exporter and a major supplier of wheat, fertilizers, wood, and metals. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Western governments have tried to squeeze Russia’s revenues through unprecedented sanctions, price caps, and export controls. How Russia’s economy responds to war and sanctions doesn’t just matter for Moscow or Kyiv — it matters for the price of fuel in India, the cost of bread in Egypt, and the margins for factories in China.
Understanding what’s really going on in the Russian economy has become essential for anyone trying to design more painful sanctions or predict where global commodity prices are headed next. But what if our model of the Russian economy is fundamentally wrong?
Nicholas Trickett is a political economist and writer who has spent years analysing the Russian economy. When he is not working on his forthcoming book, Empire of Austerity, Nick is covering the global mining and metals industry as an Associate Director at S&P Global.
The Sanctions Age is hosted by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj. The show is produced by Spiritland Productions.
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