Lecture Joy Gordon: Economic Sanctions as the Crisis of Our Times

Around the world, economic sanctions have become one of the most consequential forces shaping contemporary political and humanitarian landscapes. In this lecture, Joy Gordon (Loyola University Chicago) situates sanctions within the broader transformations of global governance. Why do sanctions occupy such a central, and often destructive, role in world politics today?

A defining crisis of our era

Far from operating at the margins of international affairs, sanctions now influence everything: from national economies and public services to patterns of displacement, access to medicine, and the daily survival strategies of millions. 

Their expanding reach, cumulative impact, and entanglement with global power structures have made them a defining crisis of our era—one that raises urgent questions about legitimacy, accountability, and the human cost of coercive policy.

About Joy Gordon

Joy  Gordon is a leading and critical voice on the use of economic sanctions and their humanitarian impact. She is the Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J. Professor of Social Ethics in the Philosophy Department at Loyola University Chicago. She teaches and publishes in the areas of social and political philosophy, human rights, international law and global governance, and ethical issues in international relations.

Gordon has published extensively on legal and ethical aspects of economic sanctions. She is the editor of the recently published volume Economic Sanctions from Havana to Baghdad: Legitimacy, Accountability, and Humanitarian Consequences.