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Iran has among the world's largest natural gas resource bases, but its ability to supply regional and global markets is constrained by sanctions, underinvestment, and limited export infrastructure.
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
The Trump administration has prioritized nuclear energy expansion, aiming to increase US nuclear capacity fourfold by 2050. This nuclear energy resurgence in the US is a rare issue...
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This workshop will be conducted in two parts: Part one on February 16 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EST, and Part two on February 18 from 1:00 PM to...
Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. InterestsBy Agathe Demarais, global forecasting director of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). November 2022 Sanctions have become the go-to foreign policy tool for the United States. Coercive economic measures such as trade tariffs, financial penalties, and export controls affect large numbers of companies and states across the globe. Some of these penalties target nonstate actors, such as Colombian drug cartels and Islamist terror groups; others apply to entire countries, including North Korea, Iran, and Russia. U.S. policy makers see sanctions as a low-cost tactic, but in reality these measures often fail to achieve their intended goals—and their potent side effects can even harm American interests. Backfire explores the surprising ways sanctions affect multinational companies, governments, and ultimately millions of people around the world. Drawing on interviews with experts, policy makers, and people in sanctioned countries, Agathe Demarais examines the unintended consequences of the use of sanctions as a diplomatic weapon. The proliferation of sanctions spurs efforts to evade them, as states and firms seek ways to circumvent U.S. penalties. This is only part of the story. Sanctions also reshape relations between countries, pushing governments that are at odds with the U.S. closer to each other—or, increasingly, to Russia and China. Full of counterintuitive insights spanning a wide range of topics, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Iran’s COVID response and China’s cryptocurrency ambitions, Backfire reveals how sanctions are transforming geopolitics and the global economy—as well as diminishing U.S. influence. This insider’s account is an eye-opening, accessible, and timely book that sheds light on the future of sanctions in an increasingly multipolar world. About the AuthorAgathe Demarais is the global forecasting director of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). She was previously a senior policy adviser for the French Treasury in Russia and Lebanon, working directly on sanctions and other economic and financial issues. |
Iran has among the world's largest natural gas resource bases, but its ability to supply regional and global markets is constrained by sanctions, underinvestment, and limited export infrastructure.
Multiple US–Iran conflict scenarios carry materially different risks for global oil infrastructure, transit routes, and prices.
China’s crude oil imports hit a record-high 11.6 million barrels per day in 2025, as geopolitical tensions, low oil prices, and global oversupply spurred China to increase its oil stockpiles, a trend likely to continue in 2026.
