Why Western sanctions don't work as well as they did during Cold War

1 year ago
11

"What is so important to recognize now in the year 2023, when we are assessing the effect of the western collective sanctions, is how different the environment is today compared to the last round when we applied sanctions, or, I should say, in the last generation when we applied sanctions. That was during the Cold War, when we, the collective west, applied sanctions against countries like South Africa.
The reason we could successfully apply sanctions during the Cold War was that we, the collective west, were such a powerful economic force. That, of course, shifted with the end of the Cold War. The end of the Cold War delivered an incredible increase in globalized business.
That matters so much, because today when we apply sanctions, either as a deterrent or as a punishment, countries that aren't willing to toe the line with us, that don't support our use of sanctions, that are indifferent or that simply want to take advantage of another country's predicament because it is under sanctions are in a position to undermine our sanctions. I think that is the biggest challenge we face in administering our sanctions. Yes, we can do so, and we can be very meticulous in designing the sanctions, but there are always countries waiting around the corner to expand their trading relations—I'm talking about economic sanctions—with a country that is under sanctions."

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