In the 19 thirties and forties, the united states is not part of the league of nations. Was the us itself using sanctions at all as a threat? They were not part of it. Scared being scared in the right way. Exactly. Because a country like germany here, we're going to blockade you. We're going to keep food from getting in if you continue down this path,. The path that led to world war too. And instead of getting scared in the wrong way, germany gets scared in the correct way. It's like, we better go out and conquer some territory so that these blockades can't work. But one year later,
The US hopes the threat of sanctions will dissuade Russia from invading Ukraine. Historian Nicholas Mulder explains the surprising history of economic penalties as a weapon of war.
This episode was produced by Amina Al-Sadi, edited by Matt Collette and Sean Rameswaram, engineered by Efim Shapiro, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and hosted by Noel King.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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