International Sanctions and Contested Normative Authority

Abstract

Abstract Does it matter for international politics who the sender of a sanction is? This chapter argues that yes, it matters a great deal, because sanctions are fundamentally social instruments that modify the “normal” terms of interactions between actors on the international scene. A relational understanding of sanctions proposes that the meaning and outcome of sanctions are ultimately determined in the social domain, through processes of exclusion and inclusion, of distance and proximity. The target needs to be involved for change to happen, and the premises for involvement vary between senders of sanctions. United Nations sanctions, unilateral/out-group sanctions, and regional/in-group sanctions lean on different legitimacy logics that reflect differences in the underlying relational premise. Recognizing the social underpinnings and consequences of sanctions helps better understand both how sanctions operate at the case level and how they shape the macro level of international relations.