Chokepoints

American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic story of how America turned the world economy into a weapon, upending decades of globalization to confront a new authoritarian axis—Russia, China, and Iran.

"Deftly written, Chokepoints is a compelling and dramatic narrative about the new shape of geopolitics."
— Daniel Yergin, The Wall Street Journal

"A timely, riveting world tour...[An] absorbing book."
— The Economist

“Remarkable...One of the most important books on economic warfare ever written.”
— Paul Kennedy, author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers

Selected as a Best Book of the Year by The Economist, Financial Times, Bloomberg, and NPR • Finalist for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award

It used to be that ravaging another country’s economy required blockading its ports and laying siege to its cities. Now all it takes is a statement posted online by the U.S. government.

In Chokepoints, Edward Fishman, a former top American sanctions official, takes us deep into the back rooms of power to reveal the untold history of the past two decades of U.S. foreign policy. As Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Ayatollah Khamenei wreaked havoc on the world stage, mavericks within the U.S. government built a fearsome new arsenal of economic weapons. Successive U.S. presidents have relied on these weapons to address the most pressing national security threats—for good and for ill.

Chokepoints provides a thrilling account of one of the most transformative developments of our time, demystifying how the U.S. government harnesses the power of Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Big Oil against America’s enemies. At the center of the narrative are the trailblazing diplomats, lawyers, and financial whizzes who have masterminded America’s escalating economic wars against Russia, China, and Iran.

Control over economic chokepoints—such as the U.S. dollar, advanced microchip technology, and critical minerals—has become the key to geopolitical power in the twenty-first century. The result is a new world order: an economic arms race among great powers and a fracturing global economy. Chokepoints is the definitive account of how America pioneered a new, hard-hitting style of economic warfare—and how it’s changing the world.

Good modern history

This is a good modern history that covers a lot of detail and multiple perspectives during the post-Bretton Woods period, with additional context provided. The author’s personal experience adds a great dimension, but the information is backed up with a lot of source data and corroborating interviews. It reminded me of the book “Chip War” and I now look at headlines in a totally new light.

I did have to rewind a lot (listened to audio). The detail put into this narrative is great, but it was a little hard to keep track of who said what and when things happened. I think the organization by country, in chronological order, was helpful. The additional analysis seemed sound and insightful.

I’m not sure the late 1990s is when economic warfare started though. It would be interesting to go back further and look at economic warfare during different major periods in history (eg. Pre-30 years war, post-Enlightenment, Napoleonic era, etc.).

Overall, definitely recommended.

Excellent

All around great. It increases my idea of what a 5 star is. Loved it and it’s extremely relevant.

Interesting subject matter

Interesting subject matter which seemed to be well researched. Reads fairly academic with a lot of details

Amazing narrative of critical story

Excellent book telling the tail of the rise of US sanctions and export controls starting with Iran, then Russia and finally China. Globalization is over and this book helps us understand the tools that ended it.

Great Read

A must-read to understand how chokepoints can hurt economies and countries. One of the best books I read/heard.