Efficacy of Economic Sanctions: North Korea and Iran Case Study

Abstract

Since World War I, the popularity of using economic sanctions by western nations to influence the behavior of states not conforming to international norms has increased. The end of the Cold War renewed the zeal within the international community and unleashed a wave of new sanctions during the 1990s that earned it the title of "Sanctions Decade." Questions surrounding the success of recently applied sanctions in influencing Iraq, Haiti, Iran, and North Korea have fueled the debate among scholars and diplomats regarding the effectiveness of economic sanctions. This paper will summarize some of the key theories of economic sanctions along with criteria for their successful implementation based on lessons learned. How sanctions have been applied towards Iran and North Korea will be described along with an evaluation of their effectiveness to date. Theory, practice, and historical context will be used to evaluate the continued use of economic sanctions to persuade North Korea and Iran to abandon their nuclear ambitions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 08, 2011
Accession Number
ADA560335

Entities

People

  • Sean P. Mcdonald

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Case Studies
  • Cold War
  • Economic Sanctions
  • Globalization
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • International Security
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • North Korea
  • Public Policy
  • Second World War
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • International Relations, focusing on Korea-Africa and North Korea-South Korea relations, and Nigeria-Latin American Relations.
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Theoretical Analysis.