The Weaponization of Global Networks

Political scientists Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman identified this shift as the weaponization of interdependence. The global economy functions through asymmetric hubs where control over infrastructure—rather than market size—grants states the ability to track transactions, gather intelligence, or impose crippling chokepoints on rivals. Washington’s strategy toward Tehran serves as the definitive case study. By leveraging dominance over the dollar-based financial system and banning Iran from SWIFT, the U.S. forces global compliance through the threat of secondary sanctions. This pressure intensified significantly under the Trump administration’s 2025 maximum pressure campaign, which targeted Iranian oil exports and revoked waivers for infrastructure projects like India’s Chabahar Port.

The Shift Toward Fragmented Systems

This power dynamic extends to the U.S.-led sanctions regime against Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, involving over 19,000 individual measures. Meanwhile, China faces a dual reality, acting as both a target of semiconductor export controls and an architect of alternative networks like the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS). As nations scramble to develop shadow shipping fleets and localized supply chains to bypass Western-controlled nodes, the universal nature of globalization is fading. For middle powers like Brazil or Turkey, the era of strategic non-alignment is closing; they must navigate a landscape where economic networks are contested territory, and the cost of choosing the wrong side is increasingly prohibitive.