How People Can Survive Under Sanctions

 

By Marc Reflects | September 2025

The Invisible Burden

I recently finished reading The Art of Sanctions by Richard Nephew, and it left me thinking about something we rarely see in headlines: the daily lives of people who actually live under sanctions. When policymakers talk about pressure, leverage, and strategic outcomes, the human story often disappears.

Sanctions are intended to influence governments, but the ones who feel the weight are ordinary families. I imagine parents rationing food, searching endlessly for medicine, or wondering if the next day will bring more uncertainty than the last. Nephew explains the mechanics of sanctions with precision, yet I found myself lingering in the spaces he only hints at—the quiet, unrecorded acts of survival.


The Human Art of Endurance

What struck me most was how people respond creatively under pressure. In Iran, for instance, communities have embraced a “resistance economy,” focusing on local production and alternative trade networks. Families grow what they can, share resources, and invent new ways to maintain livelihoods. These are not heroic gestures; they are small, persistent acts of human ingenuity in the face of scarcity.

I can’t help but reflect: survival under sanctions is not just about strategy—it is about adaptation, patience, and resilience. It is about human beings navigating constraints, bending rules in subtle ways, and protecting what they can from a world that has imposed limitations on them

Everyday Struggles Behind the Numbers

Nephew often cites statistics to measure the impact of sanctions, but numbers never fully capture the lived reality. I think of children going without adequate nutrition, communities losing jobs, and households forced to choose between medicine and electricity. Behind every statistic is a human face, a story of quiet endurance.

Reading about the economic hardships, I felt both admiration and sorrow. Admiration for people who find ways to survive against all odds, and sorrow for the pressures that forced them into such situations. The ingenuity is real, but so is the toll—on health, opportunity, and mental well-being.

Communities as Lifelines

What resonates deeply with me is the role of community networks. Survival under sanctions is rarely an individual effort; it is social. Families rely on neighbors, extended relatives, and local groups to navigate shortages. Women often organize informal markets, youth create micro-enterprises, and elders share knowledge on resource management.

These networks demonstrate an essential truth: while sanctions attempt to isolate and pressure a nation, they often catalyze local solidarity and mutual aid. People create resilience out of necessity, and in doing so, they preserve dignity and human connection.

Lessons in Creativity and Adaptation

Reflecting on Nephew’s work, I see that the people living under sanctions are teachers in their own right. They show us that survival is rarely about waiting for external solutions; it is about agency, innovation, and courage in everyday choices.

I also see the ethical dimension more clearly. Sanctions, if not carefully targeted, can inadvertently punish the very people who have the least influence over government decisions. Reading the book made me question: how can policy be effective without causing undue suffering? How can the global community balance leverage with compassion?

Hope Amid Constraints

Despite hardship, hope persists. Children attend improvised schools, small businesses emerge from unexpected places, and communities adapt in ways that are quietly inspiring. Nephew reminds us that sanctions are not totalizing—they do not erase human ingenuity or resilience.

I reflect often on the contrast between the intent of sanctions and the lived reality. Policymakers aim to pressure governments, yet what actually happens is a test of human spirit and adaptability. It’s a humbling thought: people can endure, survive, and even find small ways to thrive, even under severe external pressures.

Personal Reflections

This book has left me thinking deeply about resilience, empathy, and the hidden costs of policy. I find myself asking: what would I do if I were living under such constraints? How much of our daily comfort depends on systems that we take for granted? And most importantly, what can we learn from those who survive, innovate, and support each other in the harshest of circumstances?

Nephew’s work goes beyond analysis; it nudges the reader to see the human consequences behind every decision made in distant offices, reminding us that survival is not just strategic—it is profoundly personal.

Conclusion: Surviving with Dignity

Sanctions, as Nephew makes clear, are tools of statecraft. But survival under sanctions is a human art. It is about resilience, adaptation, and community. It is about enduring scarcity, finding creative solutions, and maintaining dignity against pressure.

Reflecting on this, I am both inspired and humbled. Inspired by the ingenuity of ordinary people, and humbled by the recognition that policies can ripple through lives in ways that are deeply human. Survival under sanctions is not only possible—it is a testament to the strength, creativity, and spirit of those who live under them every day.

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