Geography
The Role of International Sanctions in Altering State Behavior
Quick fact
Sanctions are not just one tool—they range from travel bans and asset freezes to full trade embargoes. Studies suggest that they only achieve their goals about a third of the time, yet they remain a primary tool for coercive diplomacy.
Why this is interesting
Most countries say they only use sanctions as a last resort—yet they are imposed more than ever. If they so often fail, why do states keep using them?
Read the full explanation
Understanding The Role of International Sanctions in Altering State Behavior
Think of international sanctions as a pressure campaign designed to change a country's behavior without resorting to military force. Just as a parent might take away a teenager's phone to get them to change their behavior, states or groups of states impose costs—economic, political, or social—to influence another state's decisions. Sanctions can be grouped into three main types: economic (like trade embargoes or freezing assets), diplomatic (like expelling ambassadors or suspending membership in international organizations), and military (like arms embargoes). They target different aspects of a state's power and interests. The idea is that by raising the costs of certain actions, the leadership will decide that continuing the undesirable behavior is too expensive and will change course. But unlike a parent-child relationship, states are sovereign and can seek support from others, making the process much more complicated.
A deeper explanation
The mechanism behind sanctions is based on the logic of coercion: you impose costs until the target's leadership calculates that complying is less costly than continuing the behavior. For example, sanctions on Iran aim to make it too expensive for the regime to continue its nuclear program. The process generally works through three steps: first, sanctions are imposed and they begin to damage the target's economy or political standing; second, domestic pressures mount within the target country as businesses suffer and citizens feel the pain; and third, the leadership decides to comply in order to relieve the pressure. However, this logic can break down. If the target country's leadership is able to shift the blame onto the sanctions' imposers, or if it is insulated from the effects (e.g., authoritarian regimes), the sanction may not achieve its goal. Additionally, if the target has alternative allies who can help it circumvent the sanctions—like Russia turning to China—the pressure is diluted. Success is most likely when sanctions are multilateral, targeted at decision-makers rather than the general population, and when the demands are clear and limited.