5.3 Challenges from Globalization

In September 2025 the UN sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal were reimposed, after the UK, France and Germany triggered the deal's “snapback” process. This added to US sanctions that had been reimposed after the US left the deal in 2018. Sanctions on Russia have widened in stages since 2014 and especially since 2022.

Sovereignty is a state's final authority over its own territory. Global markets, international rules and foreign investors can all limit what a government can do in practice. Foreign investment can also strain a regime's founding ideas: China's market opening sits uneasily with its official communist ideology. Some citizens see this as a loss of control. The UK's 2016 vote to leave the EU was partly about sovereignty: supporters of leaving argued for “taking back control” of laws, borders and trade, while opponents argued that shared rules brought economic benefits worth the trade-off.

Foreign media, consumer culture and ideas can provoke a reaction. Iran's leaders have long warned against Western cultural influence, and the state limits foreign media and satellite TV. China promotes national culture and restricts foreign online platforms. Russia's government labels some foreign-funded groups “foreign agents” and presents itself as defending traditional values against outside influence. In each case, governments say they are protecting national identity; critics say they are limiting free expression.

Sanctions are penalties, like trade bans, frozen assets and limits on banking, that other countries impose to pressure a government. They can shrink an economy, cut oil exports, raise prices and weaken the currency.

Iran: Sanctions over its nuclear program cut oil exports and access to world banking. The 2015 nuclear deal lifted many of them; the US reimposed its sanctions in 2018; UN sanctions returned in 2025.

Russia: Sanctions began after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and expanded sharply after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including cutting major banks from the SWIFT payment network and capping the price of Russian oil sold with Western services.

Foreign governments have other tools too, like public condemnation at the United Nations and pulling out of treaties; the US exit from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 is an example. Sanctions can also backfire politically. Leaders may blame hardship on foreigners and use it to rally nationalist support.

Governments respond to these pressures by meeting some demands for reform at home, controlling the public debate and building influence abroad to deflect criticism.

Rapid growth for export can bring pollution and health problems, which can turn into political problems. China's air pollution crisis in the early 2010s pushed the government to adopt new pollution rules. Oil spills and gas flaring in Nigeria's Niger Delta have damaged farming and fishing and fed protest movements.