Defense News
07/07/2010
IISS-Asia Set to Release Sanctions Study
By WENDELL MINNICK
TAIPEI - The London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) will release a new study on the efficacy of economic sanctions on rogue states such as North Korea and Iran on July 22 as part of the IISS-Asia Seminar Series in Singapore.
Authored by Brendan Taylor, a senior lecturer at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at Australia National University, "Sanctions as Grand Strategy" will address crucial foreign policy questions, such as, what is the aim of economic sanctions and in what circumstances can they be effective?
"Economic sanctions are becoming increasingly central to shaping strategic outcomes in the twenty-first century," said an IISS press release. "They afford great powers a means by which to seek to influence the behavior of states, to demonstrate international leadership and to express common values for the benefit of the international community at large."
Sanctions are a "middle way" for many governments to satisfy both moderates and hardliners, particularly for superpowers in the multi-polar world order. Unfortunately sanctions pose a threat to trading relations and often serve as a "prelude" to military action, said the press release.
Problems also exist with the growing influence of China and Russia who often oppose sanctions making it "ever more difficult to reach a consensus on their application."
The study focuses on the different sanction strategies of the United States, China, Russia, Japan and the European Union, with regard to the unfolding nuclear crises in Iran and North Korea.
"It examines how these measures, designed to marginalize the regimes in both countries and restrict their ability to develop nuclear weapons, have also influenced the sanctioning states' international partners." As a result, sanctions are "not just a tool of statecraft: they are potentially an important facet of grand strategy."
The paper is being published under IISS' Adelphi book series. Adelphi is the IISS' principle contribution to policy relevant academic research. Recent new titles on Asia include "Japan's Remilitarisation" by Christopher Hughes and "China's African Challenges" by Sarah Raines.
