Targeted Sanctions and Deterrence in the Twenty-first Century

Abstract

AbstractThe use of sanctions is often associated with coercion and deterrence. The former implies that sanctions contribute to changing the behaviour of targets, while the latter suggests that the damage threatened by sanctions should discourage actors from embarking on certain policies. However, sanctions have evolved substantially over the last twenty years, thus this chapter discusses whether the emergence of targeted sanctions was enough to change the classical deterrence/sanctions relation. This chapter argues that while there are similarities with the past, there are elements of change that need to be carefully considered. On the one hand the imposition of a cost to certain policy actions, the existence of an audience and the potential impact on the wider society remain central problems for both comprehensive and targeted sanctions. On the other hand, targeted sanctions present unique features that directly interact with the concept of deterrence. First, sanctions do not target states and governments only, but also individuals and non-state actors. Second, targeted sanctions are designed to reduce their impact not only on innocent civilians, but there are clear boundaries of damage that can be inflicted on targets. Third, targeted sanctions can have a moral hazard problem, so that their imposition creates an incentive for actors to embark on the very actions that sanctions aim to deter.