New research from the Atlantic Council and Atlantik-Brücke explores the dynamics of economic statecraft, highlighting opportunities and the risks of using economic tools for foreign policy goals. The research, titled "Transatlantic Economic Statecraft: Different Approaches, Shared Risk," was published by the Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center and Atlantik-Brücke on September 21.
The report consists of four individual articles that collectively provide a roadmap for employing economic leverage to achieve foreign policy and national security objectives. It addresses the rapidly evolving global economic landscape characterized by sweeping sanctions regimes and increasing geoeconomic tensions.
Director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative within the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, Kimberly Donovan, emphasized the importance of developing a framework for leveraging economic statecraft tools effectively. She stated, "Sanctions, export controls, and other levers of economic power have become the go-to tool for policymakers when faced with threats to national security. There are benefits and risks to using these tools. It is time that we develop a framework for leveraging the coercive and positive instruments of economic statecraft to ensure they achieve the intended objective and prevent unintentionally degrading our economic power or our transatlantic partnerships."
The report covers various aspects of economic statecraft and its global implications. One article, titled "Building Common Ground" by Kimberly Donovan and Maia Nikoladze, emphasizes the need for a joint approach between transatlantic partners in a global financial context. Another article, "Positive Economic Statecraft" by Nicole Goldin and Mrugank Bhusari, discusses the potential of economic incentives to resolve crises.
The consequences of export controls on the semiconductor supply chain are explored in the article "Networked Power" by Sarah Bauerle Danzman and Ambuj Sahu. Finally, Daniel McDowell's article, "New Era of Financial Sanctions," warns about the rising use of financial sanctions and the resulting anti-dollar sentiment among U.S. adversaries.
The research provides valuable insights into the use of economic statecraft and aims to guide policymakers in effectively utilizing economic tools to achieve their foreign policy and national security objectives.
