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OPINIONOPINION,
Opinion|
Business and Economy
US and EU sanctions have killed 38 million people since 1970
Far from a peaceful tool, these measures weaponise hunger and deprivation to enforce Western dominance.
A man holds Iranian rials at a currency exchange shop, before the start of the US sanctions on Tehran, in Basra, Iraq November 3, 2018. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]


By
Jason Hickel,
Dylan Sullivan and
Omer Tayyab
Published On 3 Sep 20253 Sep 2025
Click here to share on social media
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The United States and Europe have long used unilateral sanctions as a tool of imperial power, to discipline and even destroy Global South governments that seek to shake off Western domination, chart an independent path, and establish any kind of meaningful sovereignty.
During the 1970s, there were, on average, about 15 countries under Western unilateral sanctions in any given year. In many cases, these sanctions sought to strangle access to finance and international trade, destabilise industries, and inflame crises to provoke state collapse.
Live
Sign up
Open the menu
OPINIONOPINION,
Opinion|Business and Economy
US and EU sanctions have killed 38 million people since 1970
Far from a peaceful tool, these measures weaponise hunger and deprivation to enforce Western dominance.
A man holds Iranian rials at a currency exchange shop, before the start of the US sanctions on Tehran, in Basra, Iraq November 3, 2018. [Essam al-Sudani/Reuters]



By Jason Hickel, Dylan Sullivan and Omer Tayyab
Published On 3 Sep 20253 Sep 2025
Click here to share on social media
Share
The United States and Europe have long used unilateral sanctions as a tool of imperial power, to discipline and even destroy Global South governments that seek to shake off Western domination, chart an independent path, and establish any kind of meaningful sovereignty.
During the 1970s, there were, on average, about 15 countries under Western unilateral sanctions in any given year. In many cases, these sanctions sought to strangle access to finance and international trade, destabilise industries, and inflame crises to provoke state collapse.