Give examples of such wars in the modern world. What are the consequences of trade wars for their participants?
Give examples of such wars in the modern world. What are the consequences of trade wars for their participants? Do you think the embargo is an exclusively economic measure? Why?
As history shows, trade wars between states wishing to protect their producers began almost at the same time that trade itself was born. Often this led to real wars, which were already pursuing quite specific political goals.
An example is Athens’ ban on trade with Megara in 432-430. BC. This was the first known case of the use of economic sanctions for political purposes. Athens, who headed the Delian Union of Greek poleis and pursued a policy of economic expansion, introduced a ban on trade with Megara, a polis – a member of the Peloponnesian Union headed by Sparta. The crisis led to the Peloponnesian War. The Delian alliance was defeated and dissolved. Under the terms of the surrender, Athens entered the Peloponnesian Union, and an oligarchic regime favorable to Sparta was established in them.
Economic sanctions are considered a radical measure to restrict trade between countries, among which a trade embargo occupies an important place – a ban on the import (export) of a certain category of goods into or from a country. Usually states decide to impose commercial embargoes for political reasons. In addition, economic sanctions can be imposed on a state by a collegial decision, for example, a resolution of the United Nations. The embargo harms not only the economy of the country that took advantage of it, but also the state for which this sanction was applied.
