While bombs and invasions draw widespread condemnation, economic sanctions—marketed as peaceful and humane alternatives—continue to inflict mass suffering, largely unchecked. From Iran and Venezuela to Gaza, sanctions quietly devastate civilian populations, while entrenching the very global inequalities they claim to challenge.
In an age where traditional warfare increasingly draws international condemnation, the West has rebranded economic sanctions as “peaceful alternatives.” But behind the rhetoric of democracy and human rights, sanctions are brutal instruments of economic war—disproportionately harming civilian populations while consolidating global inequality.
The post-Cold War world order saw sanctions rise from niche policy tools to primary instruments of coercive diplomacy. From Iran to Venezuela to Gaza, these measures are no longer mere diplomatic signals; they are systemic punishments that deepen suffering without achieving meaningful political reform.
Economically, the impact has been profound. The World Bank’s 2023 analysis indicated that U.S. sanctions caused a cumulative GDP loss of over $200 billion for Iran between 2012 and 2022. Moreover, inflation—exacerbated by disrupted trade—has disproportionately affected the working class, with basic commodities becoming unaffordable for many.
In education, the inability to access international academic databases and platforms—due to OFAC restrictions—has reduced research output and collaboration. UNESCO highlighted in 2021 that Iranian students were increasingly isolated from global educational resources, impairing the country’s academic progress.
Sanctions have also impaired access to technology. A 2024 report by the Iranian ICT Ministry stated that U.S. tech sanctions have excluded Iranian developers from key digital platforms and open-source tools, hampering innovation and forcing students and professionals to rely on outdated or pirated software.
In the case of Iran, the impact of sanctions is not merely theoretical but painfully tangible. According to a 2023 report by the Human Rights Watch, Iran’s healthcare sector continues to suffer due to blocked imports of medical equipment and essential drugs, leading to critical shortages in treatments for cancer and chronic diseases. The Economist Intelligence Unit reported in 2022 that the pharmaceutical supply chain in Iran was operating at less than 60% efficiency due to U.S. financial restrictions.
In Iran, U.S. sanctions have severely restricted the country’s ability to import life-saving medicines. A 2019 Human Rights Watch report found shortages in treatments for cancer, epilepsy, and rare conditions such as epidermolysis bullosa—a painful skin disorder afflicting children. The cruelty lies not in intent, but in predictable consequences: everyday people lose access to essentials, while elites adapt and profit.
Venezuela, once one of Latin America’s most prosperous nations, has witnessed tens of thousands of preventable deaths due to U.S. sanctions between 2017 and 2018, according to a study by economists Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot. These deaths stem from the collapse of healthcare systems and widespread shortages of food and medicine.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip continues to endure what the International Committee of the Red Cross calls “collective punishment.” Power outages, medical scarcities, and unsafe water have become routine for over two million Palestinians trapped by blockade and sanctions.
The irony is striking. Sanctions are championed as moral tools of liberal democracies, yet they often bypass regimes and hurt the very populations they claim to protect. Far from empowering reform movements or civil society, sanctions fuel desperation, economic collapse, and—ultimately—entrench authoritarian control.
They also exacerbate internal inequality. In sanctioned states, a small elite with access to foreign currency and smuggling routes can thrive. In contrast, the working and middle classes face skyrocketing prices, job losses, and poverty. Sanctions do not promote justice; they reorganize suffering along class lines.
United Nations experts have repeatedly warned that broad, unilateral sanctions violate international law, particularly when they target sectors like healthcare, food, and education. In 2021, the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures described these sanctions as a form of “collective punishment” and a serious human rights violation.
Why, then, do they persist? The answer lies in their geopolitical utility. Sanctions maintain the economic dominance of certain global powers while punishing disobedience from others. They are tools of imperial enforcement disguised in humanitarian language.
Moreover, they foster dependency and vulnerability among targeted nations, limiting their ability to engage in independent policymaking. This in turn weakens the political sovereignty of states in the Global South and reinforces a hierarchical world order.
If international stability and justice are truly the goals, the global community must rethink this approach. Diplomacy, mutual respect, and development—not punishment—must define the next chapter in international relations.
Asia, as both a target and mediator in sanction regimes, has a crucial role to play. China, India, and Southeast Asian nations must resist aligning with coercive strategies that mirror old colonial dynamics. Instead, they can lead a movement toward multipolar cooperation, economic sovereignty, and humanitarian diplomacy.
Sanctions are not silent—they scream through empty pharmacies, dark hospitals, and hungry homes. And their echoes are loudest not in Washington or Brussels, but in Tehran, Caracas, and Gaza.
