The Economic Statecraft Initiative

Housed within the GeoEconomics Center, the Economic Statecraft Initiative (ESI) publishes leading-edge research and analysis on sanctions and the use of economic power to achieve foreign policy objectives and protect national security interests. Coercive and positive economic statecraft measures are increasingly used by the United States, European Union, and their allies and partners to address global challenges.

ESI convenes public events and private roundtable discussions to explore challenges and opportunities, providing policymakers and the private sector with unbiased data-driven analysis and actionable recommendations to shape economic statecraft solutions to global challenges.

The Economic Statecraft Initiative resides within the GeoEconomics Center, a translation hub at the nexus of economics, finance, and foreign policy with the goal of helping shape a better global economic future.

Research and Analysis

Testimony

On February 20, 2025, Economic Statecraft Initiative Director Kimberly Donovan testified to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission at a hearing titled, “An Axis of Autocracy? China’s Relations with Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Featured Report

The economic statecraft landscape is becoming more complex as transatlantic partners increasingly leverage economic power to counter transnational threats. There is a growing need to understand how these tools are used, by whom, and when, as well as their intended and real impacts worldwide.

Blue Globe viewing from space at night with connections between cities

Econographics

Mar 20, 2024

Global Sanctions Dashboard: How Hamas raises, uses, and moves money

By Kimberly Donovan, Maia Nikoladze, Ryan Murphy, and Alessandra Magazzino

How Hamas raises, uses, and moves money; How sanctions are used to counter Hamas and combat the financing of terrorism; Where governments align and diverge in their approaches to combat this activity.

Economic Sanctions European Union

New Atlanticist

Feb 23, 2024

The toll on Russia from its war in Ukraine, by the numbers

By Atlantic Council experts

Our experts quantify the staggering self-inflicted wounds Russia has suffered since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist

Feb 22, 2024

Forging a positive vision of economic statecraft

By Daleep Singh

The United States must institutionalize how it uses economic tools in the context of today’s great power competition.

China Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist

Jan 24, 2024

What the EU can do now to strengthen economic ties with Ukraine and Georgia

By Maia Nikoladze and Yulia Bychkovska

EU support for capacity-building projects in Ukraine and Georgia can help deepen their ties with the West before their accession to the bloc.

Conflict Economy & Business

Econographics

Oct 26, 2023

Global Sanctions Dashboard: How Iran evades sanctions and finances terrorist organizations like Hamas

By Kimberly Donovan, Maia Nikoladze, Ryan Murphy, and Yulia Bychkovska

Iran’s financing of Hamas and other terrorist organizations; UAE’s role in facilitating Iran and Russia sanctions evasion; lifting of UN sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Economic Sanctions European Union

Lexicon

Economic Statecraft Lexicon

A comprehensive resource designed to clarify and enhance understanding of key terms and concepts in the economic statecraft field. The Lexicon represents a collaborative effort to support more effective communication and informed decision-making on economic statecraft.

Events

Transatlantic Forum

The Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics is our annual flagship conference convening economic and financial leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, and launches cutting-edge research and analysis on transatlantic alignment on economic statecraft.

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Staff

Fellows