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| Are economic sanctions effective without the threat of military intervention? |
 PRINTABLE VERSION |
The effectiveness of economic sanctions as a powerful foreign policy tool is debatable. The question ‘to what extent are economic sanctions effective without the threat of military intervention?’ assumes that economic sanctions are to some extent effective without the threat of military intervention, that there is no chance of them being at all ineffective. This could be seen as a rather large assumption to make, however for the sake of this essay we will assume that economic sanctions are, to some extent, effective. My own belief is that economic sanctions have the ability to be reasonably effective in promoting changes within nation-states, but only under certain conditions and more often than not it seems that the local population is punished when sanctions are put in place, rather than the state.
In this essay I will examine the reasons for the beliefs I hold, discussing two cases where economic sanctions have been put in place against a country to change its domestic policies. I will begin by examining what economic sanctions are, how they are used, and how they relate to international political economy. I will go on to discuss how they were used against South Africa and Iraq, and how effective they were in each of these cases. I will go in depth into the situations in these two cases, as they provide the evidence I need to support my hypothesis on the effectiveness of economic sanctions without the threat of military intervention. I will conclude by discussing how economic sanctions should be used in the future and in what cases.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines ‘sanction’ as a ‘law, decree’, a ‘penalty for disobedience’, and ‘economic or military action by State(s) to coerce another into conformity with international norms of conduct.’ It is obvious then, combining all these definitions, that an economic sanction is a trade law or action created by a State to punish another for not obeying international norms of conduct. There are many types of economic sanctions including import restrictions, boycotts, and embargoes that prevent exports to another country. Economic sanctions are used in international political economy as a tool for foreign policy, using trade as a way to punish a nation. ‘If wealth is power, then trade is both’. Economic sanctions are used as another way to try and force a state to implement changes before military intervention is used. The reason for this is that just war theory, which is the theory of war that most states and international organisations use, says that war/military intervention should be a last resort. Therefore economic sanctions provide a way to punish a nation without the military intervention. However the effectiveness of this is debatable, as I have already stated.
I will begin by looking at the case of apartheid in South Africa. In 1948 the Nationalist party took power in South Africa and applied a tough policy of racial segregation, this was called apartheid. Native Africans were discriminated against in every possible walk of life. In April of 1960 police killed sixty-four Africans in Sharpeville. This led to worldwide condemnation of the apartheid regime. In 1976 hundreds of blacks were killed in riots in the Soweto township. These are just two of the discriminatory events that happened between 1948 and the end of apartheid. Although economic sanctions may not have been the only factor that led to the end of apartheid, they certainly played a primary role in bringing the regime to its end. In 1961 African states called for economic and political sanctions against South Africa. By 1962 the United Nations General Assembly had advised members to stop diplomatic relations with South Africa. In 1963 the United Nations (UN) adopted an arms embargo that led to member countries voluntarily ceasing shipments of arms to South Africa. This embargo stayed in place till the end of apartheid in 1994. In 1964 the International Conference on Economic Sanctions against South Africa was held, forty-four countries attended, including South Africa. It was concluded at the conference that total economic sanctions would be feasible and effective in the fight against racial discrimination and in particular apartheid in South Africa.
In 1964 India put in place a complete embargo on trade with South Africa. In 1977 British Commonwealth nations adopted the Gleneagles Agreement which called for a ban on sports contact with South Africa. In 1984 one hundred and nineteen of the three hundred and fifty US companies operating in South Africa committed themselves ‘to press for broad changes in South African society, including the repeal of all apartheid laws and policies.’ Many of these companies went on to leave the country to show their opposition to apartheid. It was this action, I believe, that was one of the key factors in the effectiveness of the economic sanctions in South Africa. American companies played a huge role in the economy of the country and their anti-apartheid stance caused economic problems for the state.
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Fi McKenzie
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Comments
cuba a example? FReddy W. | Nov 12th, 2004
ES viable las sanciones, sin embargo, no deben ser exageradad como sucede en cuba, en donde incluso los medicamentos de origen made in USa, no son permitidos, deberia de haber una reglamentacion internacional sobre el tema. y la onu, y demas instituciones podrian ayudar en el tema.
freddy w,
True its debatable Antony Felix O. O. Simbowo | May 20th, 2005
If the reason for the sanction is sinister it will definately fail. However, if its for the benefit of the majority, then it will succeed. Some one once said that no force can stop the power of an idea whose time has come.
I'm a ah hyeon | Feb 16th, 2008
student(South Korean) researching on economic sanctions and its effectiveness... I will use your essay as a research material. Please contact me if you don't wish for me to do so. E-mail : ctchyun@hotmail.com
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