Sanctions & export controls
How sanctions influence domestic political narratives and the use of economic coercion in statecraft and propaganda.
Sanctions reshape political storytelling by constraining economies while sharpening national narratives, enabling leaders to frame external pressure as necessity, resilience, or solidarity, and to instrumentalize economic coercion for legitimacy and mobilization during crises.
Published by
Mark Bennett
August 11, 2025 - 3 min Read
Economic sanctions operate as a form of indirect warfare that seeks to alter policy without battlefield losses. In many countries, the government presents trade restrictions as a righteous response to demonstrable wrongs or violations, casting diplomatic disputes into moral terms. The domestic audience absorbs messaging that portrays sanctions as an external test of national character, demanding unity, sacrifice, and innovation. Public narratives often emphasize self-sufficiency, blame external adversaries, and celebrate national resilience. Over time, these stories can become shorthand for political legitimacy, even when the economic harms are unevenly distributed. The strategy hinges on turning hardship into a badge of resolve rather than a sign of mismanagement.
When sanctions target specific sectors, authorities tailor messaging to highlight strategic patience and long-term goals. They emphasize the idea that short-term costs serve a larger objective—protecting sovereignty, safeguarding critical industries, or defending national security. This framing helps deflect criticism from economic failures and reframes them as necessary trade-offs. Media outlets, state agencies, and party spokespeople often echo the same themes, creating a coherent narrative that reduces dissent. Yet domestic audiences can also perceive contradictions between official claims and everyday experiences, leading to distrust or demands for accountability. The tension between aspirational rhetoric and observable impact shapes political calculations across institutions.
Casting economic pressure as a national test of endurance and autonomy.
In several settings, sanctions become instruments of political socialization, encouraging citizens to identify with a shared adversary and to internalize government-defined priorities. Rhetoric about defending national dignity, protecting strategic sectors, or securing a favorable future fuels popular engagement with policy debates, even among nonpolitical populations. At times, these narratives mobilize support for infrastructure projects, financial reforms, or educational initiatives seen as essential for long-term competitiveness. The discourse reframes scarcity as opportunity, inviting citizens to participate in voluntary sacrifices—energy conservation, savings, or local production—under the banner of national renewal. Such messaging can solidify loyalty but also deepen fault lines if expectations diverge from outcomes.
Propaganda surrounding sanctions often leverages fear of external vulnerability while promoting a sense of agency within the state. Leaders highlight success stories of domestic ingenuity, citing examples of alternative supply chains, domestic substitutes, or regional partnerships that mitigate harm. By delegitimizing opponents and framing sanctions as coercive, governments justify harsher internal controls, broader surveillance, or tighter regulatory regimes. Critics argue that this escalates coercion into social control, consolidating authority while stifling dissent. The result is a dynamic where economic policy becomes inseparable from political discipline, and where the simulacrum of resilience masks deeper vulnerabilities, enabling policymakers to postpone difficult reforms while maintaining popular support.
Linking coercive tools to national narrative capacity and legitimacy.
The domestic economic narrative often centers on the resilience of small firms, farmers, and workers who bear the brunt of sanctions. Stories of ingenuity—finding alternative suppliers, renegotiating contracts, or shifting to local production—become emblematic of a persevering citizenry. Media coverage may spotlight success stories alongside chronic shortages, creating a composite picture that reinforces the legitimacy of policy choices. In some cases, opposition voices are marginalized or redirected toward calls for compromise rather than fundamental policy shifts. This selective amplifications preserves an image of unified national effort, even while economic distortions accumulate across price levels, wages, and access to capital.
Financial and logistical strain under sanctions also shapes political priorities, pressing leaders to articulate a credible path to recovery. Governments often publish grandeconomic narratives that promise diversification and modernization, while real reforms lag behind rhetoric. The state may push industrial policies that incentivize specific sectors deemed crucial for strategic autonomy, such as technology, energy efficiency, or agriculture. Citizens are invited to interpret these investments as investments in sovereignty, even when the benefits accrue unevenly. In parallel, opposition factions exploit gaps between promise and performance to articulate alternate visions, testing the durability of the ruling coalition and the resilience of the national consensus.
The interwoven roles of media, policy, and public perception under coercive regimes.
Sanctions also influence how political actors frame international engagement, coloring diplomacy with a narrative of resistance and self-reliance. Foreign partners, viewed through the domestic lens, become either enablers of vitality or threats to sovereignty, depending on how sanctions interact with bilateral histories. Governments may cultivate narratives about trusted regional allies to help cushion economic shocks, emphasizing solidarity and shared strategies for circumventing restrictions. The propaganda environment encourages steady dialogue with sympathetic audiences abroad while warning domestic constituencies about betrayal or coercion from external powers. The ultimate aim is to preserve political capital by coupling external pressure with an internal story of perseverance and principled stance.
Domestic media ecosystems play a central role in shaping the reception of sanctions narratives. State-owned outlets, aligned think tanks, and partisan broadcasters often propagate uniform messaging that frames external constraints as legitimate enforcement of rules or as moral defenses against aggression. Meanwhile, independent voices, when allowed, scrutinize policy effectiveness, exposing inconsistencies and highlighting human costs. The contrast between controlled messages and unscripted reporting can spark debates about accountability, transparency, and the balance between security and civil liberties. Across this spectrum, the discourse constructs a shared memory of sanctions as a test of national character rather than a mere economic instrument.
Broadening the social base of legitimacy through shared sacrifice and solidarity.
The use of sanctions as a propaganda tool extends to education and cultural policy, reinforcing the narrative of autonomy from foreign influence. Curricula may emphasize resilience, resourcefulness, and patriotism, while alternative histories downplay complicity with sanctioning powers. Museums, exhibitions, and public broadcasts become venues to celebrate domestic achievements in science, industry, and defense. These cultural efforts reinforce a sense of collective purpose, making sanctions feel less like punishment and more like a deliberate, values-driven project. Critics argue that such mobilization can obscure structural weaknesses and externalize culpability onto foreign governments rather than address domestic governance failures.
Economic coercion also prompts governments to pursue strategic messaging around solidarity with marginalized groups within the country. Civil society organizations, religious groups, or regional communities may be mobilized to demonstrate resilience and loyalty to state-led narratives. By incorporating diverse voices into the sanctioned resilience story, authorities attempt to broaden legitimacy beyond the elite, creating a broader social contract predicated on shared sacrifice and national purpose. However, the inclusion of these actors can be fragile, susceptible to co-optation or promises that are not fulfilled, which may erode trust over time and invite counter-narratives from independent communities.
In the long run, sanctions influence political economy by accelerating debates about diversification, self-sufficiency, and state capacity. Policy circles describe reform efforts as essential for reducing vulnerability to external pressure, while the public sees them as necessary to protect livelihoods and national honor. The dual reality—economic hardship accompanied by political purpose—can create a unique environment where reform is both possible and precarious. As governments push for innovation and resilience, opposition groups might press for transparency and measurable accountability to prevent graft and misallocation of limited resources. The balance between national pride and pragmatic governance becomes a defining feature of the political landscape.
The future of sanctions-driven narratives rests on the ability of leaders to translate coercive power into credible, equitable paths of development. If populations perceive policy as fair, inclusive, and effective, the social contract strengthens and resistance to external manipulation wanes. If not, sanctions risk crystallizing into a tool of political exploitation, where temporary gains in legitimacy mask persistent economic and social fractures. Ultimately, the sustainability of statecraft under coercion depends on responsive governance, genuine citizen engagement, and transparent, accountable institutions that can weather external shocks while preserving democratic norms and human rights.
