Episode 11: “When Sanctions Do (Not) Work”

Alistair Wellmann, a Practice Fellow at the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School, and an expert on sanctions implementation and effectiveness, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about sanctions. They discuss:
• why states impose sanctions,
• different sanction types,
• when sanctions work and when they don’t, and
• how to sharpen the tool.

Alistair Wellmann, a Practice Fellow at the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School, and an expert on sanctions implementation and effectiveness, joins Dr. Katharina Emschermann, Deputy Director at the Centre for International Security, to talk about sanctions. They discuss:

why states impose sanctions,
different sanction types,
when sanctions work and when they don’t, and
how to sharpen the tool.

Bibliography
Clifton, Morgan T./ Bapat, Navin/ Kobayashi, Yoshiharu (2014): Threat and Imposition of Economic Sanctions 1945–2005: Updating the TIES Dataset, in: Conflict Management and Peace Science, 31:5, 541–58, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26271378

Felbermayr Gabriel J./ Syropoulos, Constantinos/ Yalcin Erdal/ Yotov Yoto (2019): On the Effects of Sanctions on Trade and Welfare: New Evidence Based on Structural Gravity and a New Database. School of Economics Working Paper Series 2019-3, July 2019, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3422152

Felbermayr, Gabriel J./ Kirilakha, Aleksandra/ Syropoulos, Constantinos/ Yalcin, Erdal / Yotov, Yoto V. (2020): The global sanctions data base, in: European Economic Review, Vol. 129, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014292120301914

Hackenbroich, Jonathan/ Zerka, Pawel (2021): Economic arm-twisting is on the rise: Europe must learn how to resist it, in: https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2021/11/economic-arm-twisting-is-on-the-rise-europe-must-learn-how-to-resist-it

Hufbauer, Gary C./ Schott, Jeffrey J./ Elliott Kimberly A./ Oegg Barbara (2009): Economic Sanctions Reconsidered: History and Current Policy, 3rd ed, Peterson Institute, https://www.piie.com/bookstore/economic-sanctions-reconsidered-3rd-edition-paper

Jordan, Joseph F. (2013): Sanctions Were Crucial to the Defeat of Apartheid, in: https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/11/19/sanctions-successes-and-failures/sanctions-were-crucial-to-the-defeat-of-apartheid
Peksen, Dursun (2019): When Do Imposed Economic Sanctions Work? A Critical Review of the Sanctions Effectiveness Literature, in: Defence and Peace Economics, 30:6, 635-647, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10242694.2019.1625250?casa_token=l757D25DenoAAAAA:gpKDruuVYo-g4n_BWLy3_YI4o_R3zk3nmBopAvu2vTqE7fxr-tNvrm4vwFP75XQ2VT3tg2g9cqo3

The Economist (2021): Sanctions are now a central tool of governments’ foreign policy, 04/24/2021, https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2021/04/22/sanctions-are-now-a-central-tool-of-governments-foreign-policy

Zarate, Juan (2013): Treasury's War: The Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare, PublicAffairs, New York, https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/juan-zarate/treasurys-war/9781610391160/