Geography
How International Sanctions Affect Domestic Political Legitimacy
Quick fact
Empirical studies find that sanctions are more likely to increase domestic political legitimacy when they are broad and prolonged, because they trigger a 'rally-around-the-flag' effect, while targeted sanctions against elites often have the opposite effect, reducing elite support.
Why this is interesting
When a country is sanctioned, you might expect its government to weaken—but sometimes the opposite happens. Why do some sanctions backfire and actually strengthen the leader they target?