Book Event: Agathe Demarais' "Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests"

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Please join the Economics Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for a discussion of Agathe Demarais’ book Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests. CSIS senior fellow, Gerard DiPippo, will be joined by Agathe Demarais to discuss the impact of sanctions on the global economic and financial systems, as well as their unintended consequences.

Agathe Demarais is the global forecasting director of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Her work focuses on the intersection of economics and geopolitics, with a special interest in Russia and sanctions. Before joining the EIU, Demarais worked for six years for the diplomatic corps of the French Treasury, with postings at the French embassies in Moscow and Beirut. She also worked in investment banking in the United States and Russia. Demarais holds master’s degrees from Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University, where she studied with a Fulbright fellowship from the U.S. Department of State. Her latest book, Backfire, discusses the global ripple effects of U.S. sanctions (Columbia University Press, 2022). She speaks fluent French, English, Spanish, Russian and Arabic.

Gerard DiPippo is a senior fellow with the Economics Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He joined CSIS after 11 years in the U.S. intelligence community (IC). From 2018 to 2021, DiPippo was a deputy national intelligence officer for economic issues at the National Intelligence Council, where he led the IC's economic analysis of East Asia. He also was a senior economic analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, focused on East Asia, South Asia, and global economic issues. DiPippo holds a bachelor's degree in economics and philosophy from Dartmouth College. His research focuses on China economic issues, sanctions, monetary and currency issues, and industrial policy.

Agathe Demarais’ Backfire argues that U.S. sanctions are a critical tool for Western democracies. However, sanctions can also reshape relations between countries, strengthening cooperation amongst U.S. adversaries. 

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.