September 08, 2017
When Is It Time to End Sanctions Programs?
At the end of August, U.S. officials imposed new sanctions on Venezuela following the government’s crackdown on both the opposition and the country’s democratic institutions. The measures marked the fourth major expansion in U.S. sanctions programs this summer. (The others were against Iran, North Korea, and Russia.) With each set addressing different security threats, sanctions have been dubbed the “Swiss army knife of U.S. foreign policy” by the scholar Robert Kahn. Yet at a time when Washington has so many such programs in place, determining how best to wind down sanctions is perhaps more important than discussing when and how to impose them. If U.S. leaders want to use sanctions to change their targets’ policies, they need to plan for their eventual removal. Otherwise, Washington will lose credibility during negotiations and limit the mechanism’s effectiveness.
Read the full op-ed in Foreign Affairs.
More from CNAS
-
Energy Markets, Geopolitics, and COVID-19
Commentary
On May 14, members of the CNAS Energy, Economics, and Security (EES) program held a Twitter conversation on the impact of COVID-19 on energy markets and geopolitics. EES Progr...
By Sam Dorshimer & Abigail Eineman
-
Emerging Trends in Coercive Economic Measures Used by the United States and China
Commentary
On April 24, the CNAS Energy, Economics, and Security (EES) program held a live discussion on trends in coercive economic measures in the U.S.-China relationship. This event c...
By Ashley Feng
-
The World Order Is Dead. Here’s How to Build a New One for a Post-Coronavirus Era.
Commentary
International orders seldom change in noticeable ways. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, the Pax Romana was not a passing phase: it persisted for centuries. The order that a...
By Edward Fishman
-
Covid‑19 and the oil price collapse
Podcast
Rachel Ziemba, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins Roland Rajah, the Lowy Institute’s Director of the International Economy Program, an...
By Rachel Ziemba, Roland Rajah & Rodger Shanahan
