Once, blockades and sieges were needed to devastate a rival’s economy. Today, sanctions, tariffs and control of vital systems can exert comparable power with extraordinary speed. In Chokepoints, former US State Department official Edward Fishman offers a gripping account of the rise of economic warfare. Drawing on research, personal experience and interviews, he explores how the US dollar, advanced microchips and energy supply chains became tools of geopolitical competition—and how China, Europe and Britain are developing similar leverage.

Why You Should Read?

• Understand how sanctions, tariffs and financial restrictions shape international power.
• Explore the strategic importance of modern economic chokepoints, from semiconductors to energy.
• Follow a vivid global narrative grounded in research, firsthand experience and conversations with key players.
• Gain insight into the changing economic relationship between the United States, China, Europe and Britain.

About the Author

Edward Fishman is a former US State Department official whose work focuses on international economic policy and geopolitical strategy. His experience in government and research informs this detailed examination of economic statecraft, sanctions and global power. In Chokepoints, he combines policy expertise with narrative reporting to explain how economic networks and critical technologies have become central instruments of twenty-first-century conflict.