The Chokepoint Trap
The article argues that policymakers now focus on chokepoints—leverage over supply chains, finance, technology, and security—after a quarter century of globalization made such dependencies pervasive. It says U.S. efforts to exploit its dominant position, along with Chinese and Iranian leverage, have led other states to explore countervailing chokepoint power. The author warns that this dynamic resembles the security dilemma: each state’s attempt to become safer makes others feel less secure and drives escalation.
Why it matters: The article’s core claim belongs to the briefing’s geoeconomics theme: leverage over supply chains, finance, and technology now generates a collective security dilemma.