Sanctions are a form of war, not an alternative to it, and like war, they are dangerous, damaging and unpredictable in impact
War is never just a matter of soldiers and weapons. Indeed, economic warfare has been a central overt aspect of war, especially obvious since the beginning of the 20th century. It still is today, but we call it “sanctions”. But sanctions are a form of war, not an alternative to it, and like war, dangerous, damaging and unpredictable in impact.
On Sunday night and Monday morning, the US and Europe imposed the most crippling and severe sanctions ever levelled against a G20 country. Russia has been treated like Iran, North Korea, Venezuela. Russian money, until recently so eagerly sought, so politically efficacious, not least in London, has been sterilised.
David Edgerton is the author of Britain’s War Machine: Weapons, Resources and Experts in the Second World War (Penguin)
