As effective as bullets, maybe

COULD economic collapse bring down Bashar Assad's regime even when mass protests have not? Pressure on the economy is mounting from every direction. On November 27th the 22-country Arab League took an unprecedented decision to impose economic sanctions on a fellow member. It voted to stop trading with the Syrian state in all but essential goods, to ban Arab investments in Syria, to freeze assets held by senior members of the regime abroad, and to end dealings with Syria's central bank. Three days later Turkey, one of Syria's biggest trading partners, said it would follow suit.

Meanwhile, American and European Union (EU) sanctions are starting to bite. A ban on oil imports, applied by America in August and the EU in September, is costing Syria $400m a month. The shrinking of foreign-currency reserves, estimated at some $18 billion when the crisis began in March, is making trade increasingly tricky. The Banque Saudi Fransi, a Saudi bank, has announced it is selling its 27% interest in one of Syria's private banks. Foreign investment has halted. International credit cards no longer work. The Syrian pound has fallen on the black market to its lowest point yet. To prevent even more unrest, the government has brought back some subsidies on staples. Tourism, which accounted for over 10% of GDP in 2010, has virtually disappeared.