Understanding the Global Ripple Effects After Targeting Countries for Sanctions

In this interview with the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC-USA), Agathe Demarais, the global forecasting director at The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), talks about her recently released book Backfire, which explores the ripple effects of American sanctions on the populations of targeted countries, multinationals, and transatlantic relations. She also discusses the impact of export controls on semiconductor shipments to China.

What message are these sanctions sending to the West? Are sanctions effective? How do they impact the population in targeted countries? And will Russian President Vladimir Putin change course? Demarais dives into all these questions, expertly and concisely explaining an issue that continues to be covered by foreign journalists.

Agathe Demarais

Patrícia Vasconcellos

Demarais is the global forecasting director at The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Prior to joining the EIU, she worked as an economic advisor for the diplomatic corps of the French Treasury with postings in Russia and the Middle East. Demarais also worked in investment banking in Russia and the United States. She has master’s degrees from The Paris Institute of Political Studies—commonly known as Sciences Po—and Columbia University, where she was a Fulbright Scholar. She speaks fluent French, English, Russian, Arabic, and Spanish.

The interview was conducted by Patrícia Vasconcellos, an AFPCA-USA Club board member and U.S. correspondent for SBT. Based in Washington D.C., Patrícia covers the White House, American politics, economy and current affairs. Her documentary about the 2020 BLM protests and police response, Curfew in NYC, received multiple awards including Best Short film from the New York Film Awards and Best Director for Short Films from the New York International Film Awards. Patrícia is a jury member of the New York Movie Awards 2022 and served as a grand jury member for the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards 2022. In 2021 she won the Professional Excellence Prize Award from AFPC-USA. Patrícia is a recipient of the Chevening Award, a scholarship funded by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to outstanding emerging leaders from all over the world. She gained her master´s in TV Journalism from The University of London.