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Opinion
Clara Ferreira Marques

Hints of Russia’s Future in South Africa’s Sanctions Past

Even imperfect restrictions can turn an ailing economy into a moribund one. 

Anti-apartheid marchers in December, 1969.

Anti-apartheid marchers in December, 1969.

Source: Central Press/Hulton Archive

For a Bloomberg Economics report on 10 Lessons on Sanctions From 1980s South Africa, please click here.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, allied nations have unleashed a suite of sanctions so rapid and broad in its reach that there are no true precedents. Even, say, curbs on Iran or Venezuela — both oil producers cut off from global finance — are by necessity imperfect.