Peiman Salehi – Political Analyst & Writer

By Peiman Salehi

*Originally published on: South Africa Today

In recent years, economic sanctions have evolved from tools of geopolitical pressure into instruments of civilizational warfare.

For countries like Iran, Venezuela, and Palestine, sanctions no longer simply aim to change policies—they seek to erode identity, fracture social cohesion, and weaken the philosophical foundations of resistance.

Sanctions are often discussed in economic or legal terms, yet their psychological and civilizational dimensions are less explored.

For countries resisting Western dominance, sanctions act not just as external pressure but as internal corrosion. They disrupt everyday life, target public morale, and isolate nations from the global narrative. In Iran, sanctions have hindered access to essential medicine, broken financial networks, and fueled a perception of being unjustly punished for asserting national sovereignty. In Palestine, restrictions and financial blockades have become tools to crush social resilience. In Venezuela, the blockade of oil and trade infrastructure has created
humanitarian crises that erode the legitimacy of alternative governance models.

Iran’s resistance economy has developed not as a policy preference, but as a necessity to endure a war on survival. Sanctions have targeted everything from cancer drugs to banking systems, directly impacting civilians. Yet, this economic siege has also nurtured a stronger
intellectual discourse about independence, indigenous development, and civilizational dignity. Venezuela, too, has faced suffocating sanctions primarily targeting oil, medicine, and food systems. While the media narrative often blames domestic mismanagement, the economic
war waged externally is undeniable. Sanctions intend to discredit and dismantle any model that refuses U.S. alignment. In Palestine, the sanctions and financial restrictions imposed on various factions are part of a broader architecture of occupation. Even international aid
is subjected to political filtration, punishing the very notion of autonomous Palestinian governance.

As Western-led unipolarity faces resistance, sanctions have become a tool to delay the inevitable shift toward a multipolar world.

They function as ideological barricades, aiming to preserve the dominance of liberal market systems and Western cultural hegemony.

But they are increasingly failing. The emergence of alternative alliances—BRICS, South-South cooperation, and localized economic pacts—signals a philosophical realignment. The resistance of Iran, Venezuela, and Palestine is not isolated; it is emblematic of a global
reawakening that seeks to restore dignity to post-colonial identities. Sanctions, in this context, are desperate measures to suppress that awakening. Yet, their overuse and visible human toll have weakened their moral justification, even among Western populations.

Sanctions are no longer simply economic instruments—they are civilizational weapons. Their purpose is to delegitimize resistance, erase alternative values, and force alignment with a decaying hegemonic order. But the people of Iran, Venezuela, and Palestine show
that resilience, when rooted in identity and justice, can outlast siege. This resistance is not merely national; it is civilizational.

It redefines the battlefield from borders and economies to memory, morality, and the future of global order. This is not just a political fight. It is a struggle for the soul.