The Strategy of Sanctions
From Antiquity to the 21st Century
Will be published approx. on 9. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
478 pages
978-0-472-05823-5 (ISBN)
Description
In recent decades, sanctions have become the preferred tool for the nonviolent coercion of other nations. The US government employs sanctions and embargoes to pressure not only enemies but sometimes even its friends. Despite their ubiquity, the debate over their efficacy continues. Measuring their success is controversial since many sanctions are economic, while the desired outcomes are political. Under what circumstances can sanctions or embargoes deliver their intended policy objectives at an acceptable cost? How can they best be integrated with other available instruments of national power?
The Strategy of Sanctions uses case studies from antiquity to the present to evaluate the strategic utility of sanctions and embargoes. The authors utilize a blended approach combining earlier definitions of sanctions, concepts from teaching of strategy, as well as terms of their own creation. They apply a common framework for teaching strategy, which disaggregates operational-level from strategic-level goals, and goals from strategies. By examining sanctions in different eras and contexts, the book highlights the circumstances that are most conducive to their efficacy.
The Strategy of Sanctions uses case studies from antiquity to the present to evaluate the strategic utility of sanctions and embargoes. The authors utilize a blended approach combining earlier definitions of sanctions, concepts from teaching of strategy, as well as terms of their own creation. They apply a common framework for teaching strategy, which disaggregates operational-level from strategic-level goals, and goals from strategies. By examining sanctions in different eras and contexts, the book highlights the circumstances that are most conducive to their efficacy.
Reviews / Votes
"The Strategy of Sanctions is an important and timely book: it poses a question that has become increasingly significant in the past half decade. Can nonviolent economic pressure suffice to discipline, or even deter, aggressive regimes?" * Andrew Lambert, King's College * "The Strategy of Sanctions fills in an important gap in the sanctions literature. It provides a much-needed historical assessment of major sanctions cases. It nicely complements and adds to the current sanctions literature dominated by quantitative studies." * Dursun Peksen, University of Memphis * "This impressive collection is based on superb scholarship. Paine and Toprani have done their readers a double favor. Readers will be grateful for the many fascinating case studies in the use of sanctions, which are well selected and surprisingly varied. Readers will be grateful again for the carefully distilled and sensible lessons, which everyone should learn." * Mark Harrison, University of Warwick *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ann Arbor
United States
Illustrations
2 illustrations, 8 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-472-05823-5 (9780472058235)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
S. C. M. Paine is Professor Emerita of History and Grand Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College.
Anand Toprani is Professor of Strategy & Policy at the U.S. Naval War College.
Anand Toprani is Professor of Strategy & Policy at the U.S. Naval War College.
Content
Contents
Disclaimer
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
S.C.M. Paine
Anand Toprani
Part I: Before the Twentieth Century
Chapter 1 The Megarian Decree
Raul A. Rahe
Chapter 2 Sanctions in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France (1793-1815): Embargoes, Blockades, and Trade Interdictions
Silvia Marzagalli
Chapter 3 Jefferson's Export Embargo (1807-1809)
Andrew J. B. Fagal
Part II: The Interwar Period
Chapter 4 Collective Failure: The League of Nations and Sanctions against Italy
Bruce Strang
Chapter 5 The US Neutrality Acts (1935-1939)
Anand Toprani
Chapter 6 The US Embargo of Japan (1939-1941): From Rollback, to Deterrence, to Boomerang
S.C.M. Paine
Part III: The Cold War on Communism
Chapter 7 Western Sanctions Against the Soviet Bloc during the Cold War
Daniel Fried
Michael B. De Groot
Chapter 8 The Wonders of CoCom: The China Differential Sanctions (1950-1991)
Bruce A. Elleman
Chapter 9 Sanctions and North Korea: A Seventy Years' War
Charles K. Armstrong
Chapter 10 The US Embargo against Cuba (1960-present)
Michelle D. Paranzino
Part IV: The Cold War on the Periphery
Chapter 11 The International Embargo of Iranian Oil (1951-1954)
Gregory Brew
Chapter 12 The Empire and the Client State: The American Use of Economic Pressure against Britain During the Suez Crisis
Diane B. Kunz
Chapter 13 International Sanctions against Rhodesia and South Africa (1962-1994)
Carl P. Watts
Chapter 14 The 1967 and 1973 Arab Oil Embargoes
Victor R. McFarland
Part V: The Enduring Relevance of Sanctions
Chapter 15 The Troubled Legacy of the Iraq Sanctions
Joy Gordon
Chapter 16 Nuclear Proliferation in India and Pakistan (1974-present)
Timothy Turnbull
Chapter 17 Post-9/11 US Sanctions and Their Limitations
Adam M. Smith
Chapter 18 The Economic Impact and Political Effectiveness of Sanctions on Iran (1979-present)
Richard Nephew
Chapter 19 Sanctions against Russia over Ukraine (2014-present)
Anders Aslund
Conclusion
S.C.M. Paine
Anand Toprani
Afterword
David Park
List of Contributors
Index
Disclaimer
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
S.C.M. Paine
Anand Toprani
Part I: Before the Twentieth Century
Chapter 1 The Megarian Decree
Raul A. Rahe
Chapter 2 Sanctions in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France (1793-1815): Embargoes, Blockades, and Trade Interdictions
Silvia Marzagalli
Chapter 3 Jefferson's Export Embargo (1807-1809)
Andrew J. B. Fagal
Part II: The Interwar Period
Chapter 4 Collective Failure: The League of Nations and Sanctions against Italy
Bruce Strang
Chapter 5 The US Neutrality Acts (1935-1939)
Anand Toprani
Chapter 6 The US Embargo of Japan (1939-1941): From Rollback, to Deterrence, to Boomerang
S.C.M. Paine
Part III: The Cold War on Communism
Chapter 7 Western Sanctions Against the Soviet Bloc during the Cold War
Daniel Fried
Michael B. De Groot
Chapter 8 The Wonders of CoCom: The China Differential Sanctions (1950-1991)
Bruce A. Elleman
Chapter 9 Sanctions and North Korea: A Seventy Years' War
Charles K. Armstrong
Chapter 10 The US Embargo against Cuba (1960-present)
Michelle D. Paranzino
Part IV: The Cold War on the Periphery
Chapter 11 The International Embargo of Iranian Oil (1951-1954)
Gregory Brew
Chapter 12 The Empire and the Client State: The American Use of Economic Pressure against Britain During the Suez Crisis
Diane B. Kunz
Chapter 13 International Sanctions against Rhodesia and South Africa (1962-1994)
Carl P. Watts
Chapter 14 The 1967 and 1973 Arab Oil Embargoes
Victor R. McFarland
Part V: The Enduring Relevance of Sanctions
Chapter 15 The Troubled Legacy of the Iraq Sanctions
Joy Gordon
Chapter 16 Nuclear Proliferation in India and Pakistan (1974-present)
Timothy Turnbull
Chapter 17 Post-9/11 US Sanctions and Their Limitations
Adam M. Smith
Chapter 18 The Economic Impact and Political Effectiveness of Sanctions on Iran (1979-present)
Richard Nephew
Chapter 19 Sanctions against Russia over Ukraine (2014-present)
Anders Aslund
Conclusion
S.C.M. Paine
Anand Toprani
Afterword
David Park
List of Contributors
Index