Economic sanctions in Iran and around the world have not
only been ineffective, but have lead to increased hostility, militarism, and
distrust. What if there was another economic means to pacifying the
interactions between the United States
and Iran?
What if this solution has already proven to be successful in the modern era?
The development of economic partnerships, rather than
sanctions, is an alternative to the predominant strategies of the current
global order; a strategy that would, “Make it plain that any war…becomes not
merely unthinkable, but materially impossible,”1 as stated by former
French Prime Minister and first ever President of the European Assembly (the
parliamentary institution of the European Union) Robert Schuman. Identifying
the disastrous consequences of repeated conflict in Europe,
Schuman paved the way for the creation of the European Union through his
declaration and development of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). To
this day there has not been an armed conflict between members of the European
Union and ECSC partnership, a partnership formed only five years after World
War II ravaged across Europe.*
