Essay Example on International Law: Understanding Sanctions and Their Role

Introduction

International law is a set of standards and rules which are generally accepted in a nation's relations. Its sources are international customs and treaties where relations rules are developed. They can be supranational law, public international law, and private international law (Allen & Lektzian, 2013). The role of international law is to promote prosperity and peace as it acts as a balm in smoothening opposing interests that nations may have.

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Sanctions are regularly seen as an alternative to a military force that involves punishing the offender economically, politically, and socially with a hope to solve a crisis without causing mass suffering. The use of sanctions always comes with various risks. It involves one country attempting to change another country's behavior by introducing bans, embargoes, or a complete ban on trade (Miyagawa, 2016). The paper examines the importance of economic sanctions as an instrument used to address foreign policy. The use of economic sanctions is well analyzed by focusing on the practice and theories of the sanctions and looking at the effectiveness of the economic sanctions.

Economic sanctions are being utilized more often to promote the objectives of American foreign policy, yet the sanctions sometimes turn out to be against the preferences of the U.S, which hurt the economic interests. Sanctions are more focused and less unilateral in addressing the problem at hand. Generally, economic sanctions cover policies of trade-restrictions between nations (Allen & Lektzian, 2013). One country can introduce a boycott restriction, which is associated with the refusal of the country to buy goods and services from the country that is supplying. Then embargoes restrict the supply of both products and services to a country that wants to buy from the country introducing the sanction. There is variation in the scope of economic sanctions as other might be a policy to isolate a country completely and break off all the trade and economic relations.

Economic sanctions usually take the form of limitations on export and import, reductions and cut-offs of foreign assistance, tariff increases, cancelation of air links, revocation of trade status for nations that are most favored, asset freezes, diplomatic relations withdrawals, visa denials, and prohibitions on investment, financing, and credit which are used to accomplish the ends of foreign policies (Miyagawa, 2016). The aims of economic sanctions range and vary from being an expression of some dissatisfaction of policy changes in the targeted country. If the level of change and ambitions is high, it is more challenging to achieve the objectives of the sanctions introduced.

Theory and Practice of Economic Sanctions

There exists a bit of literature on economic sanctions, where the theory differs considerably from the practice. There is a tension between the objectives of the World Trade Organization and the sanctions. The principle aim of WTO is to liberalize trade, yet the primary purpose of economic sanctions is to impose trade restrictions, they are meant to lower economic gains of the targeted countries, especially the gains from trade (Miyagawa, 2016). The economic sanctions are justified mainly under Article XXI of GATS and under security exceptions where the involvement of service trade occurs.

The economic sanctions theory is based on various stylistic assumptions concerning how the sanctions affect trade. Most economic sanctions do not take account of responses and human behavior, which might undermine the effectiveness of the economic sanctions. To some extent, the period for economic sanctions to work and bring about the desired impact is short, but they are still the most popular tool of policymaking. Because of the shrinking world and growing interdependency among markets, the effectiveness of economic sanctions is reduced.

The mechanism in which economic sanctions achieve their goals from the perspective of the economy is based on the reversal of theories of international trade, which are of the assumption that the economic welfare of the world is maximized under free trade conditions. The theory states that trade limitations and protection of the country's markets via tariffs increase or, through the introduction of import restrictions, will reduce the level of the general welfare. The introduction of economic sanctions in the form of embargoes leads to a supply shock, while boycotts isolate the country being targeted from the world market.

Importance of Economic Sanctions

Economic sanctions remain to be an effective instrument of foreign policy that should never be abandoned under any circumstances, and it should be retained by both national and supra-national institutions (Allen & Lektzian, 2013). Some sanctions are essential as they impact entities and individuals who might be responsible for attacks like cyber-attacks, which are a threat to the imposing country's economic health, financial stability, national security, and foreign policy.

Sanctions are also introduced to get rid of illegal trade that is in operation in two countries, which involve the purchase of one country's products by another against the rules of the World Trade Organization (Cortright, 2018). More so, the sanctions are significant as the imposing country might be protecting the domestic industry from producers who are from foreign countries.

Economic sanctions help to achieve foreign policy objectives, which are modes and relatively significant. It offers a proportional response to a problem where the interest that dominates it is less than vital. They are used to signal official discontent with a specific behavior, which causes unrest in the imposing country.

Furthermore, economic sanctions serve the aim of commitment reinforcement to a specific behavioral norm that might include opposition to proliferation and respect for human rights (Cortright, 2018). Economic sanctions have also proved to successfully bring about peace when it is applied to bring into discussion table ambitions of some countries to engage in unlawful practices. The United Nations can impose economic sanctions on trade travels, economic performance, and other areas to make leaders of such countries comply with specific actions.

Effectiveness of Economic Sanctions

Researchers often debate the efficacy of sanctions by observing their ability to achieve the desired purpose. Neuenkirc and Neumeier (2015) showed correct their research that the sanctions imposed by the U.S and U.N cause an impact that is statistically significant on the sanctioned country by reducing the country's GDP growth by a percentage of more than 2% every year. Comprehensive sanctions at best were successful to only 30 percent, and as the longer time the sanctions are imposed, the lower it becomes compelling because the imposed country adapts to the new conditions of its economy instead of behavioral changes; thus, rendering the sanction less effective that its actual aim (Neuenkirc and Neumeier 2015).

In today's globalized world, countries trade with various countries and no longer needed to be self-sufficient. Hence, the countries have the ability to profit from revenues got from several trade avenues. As one country close their market through imposing economic sanctions, the sanctioned country can quickly shift to another market in a different country where its economic focus is shifted to new trading partners.

Costs of Economic Sanctions

While the benefits derived from economic sanctions are elusive, the costs associated with it are not. Sanctions on trade deprive a country which is introducing the sanction the gains from engaging in trade, and a result it penalizes the firms that engage in exportation, which are the most productive and sophisticated in many countries of the world. As economic sanctions around the globe have increased and expanded for the last 20 years, the sanctions have increased tensions between one country and another. In the United States alone, the cost of economic sanctions is estimated at around 15 to 19 dollars, which arose from foregone exports in 1995 in which the exports were targeted at 26 countries (Cortright, 2018). Even the use of limited sanctions, for example, foreign aid restrictions, it might cause substantial impacts on the bilateral trade flows.

The effects of various unilateral sanctions that are limited surpass the targets, and the impact caused remains long after they get lifted because the firms in the country that introduced the sanctions are mostly regarded as unreliable suppliers. The countries that are sanctioned might change the exporters of goods they purchase even when the imposed sanctions are no longer in place; hence, granting firms situated in other nations a more competitive advantage.

Neuenkirc and Neumeier (2015) found that the negative impacts caused by the sanction last for about ten years, which amounts to an aggregate which leads to a decline of 25.5 percent in the per capita GDP of the sanctioned country. If restrictions on imports are promulgated, the imposing country consumers will experience limited choices of goods. Then, if restrictions are on exports, then the companies in the imposing countries are prohibited from trading which reduces investment opportunities, and they will lose markets.

Conclusion

While the imposition of economic sanctions can be an attractive policy tool politically and which is essential in the country, imposing it for some reason, the effectiveness of the sanctions is somehow arguable. Economic sanctions show determination and even willingness by governments to go and act beyond mere rhetoric and walk the talk without considering the costs. It was seen that sanctions generate economic costs that work in both the imposing and imposed countries.

Some third parties take advantage of economic sanctions and plan to break the sanctions. Economic sanctions cause changes in partners of trade and lead to new alliances. The effectiveness of economic sanctions has been reduced by the interdependence of countries on trade relations and increased globalization of production. The weak history of economic sanctions makes it hard to be applied in complement and isolation of other measures.

References

Allen, S. H., & Lektzian, D. J. (2013). Economic sanctions: A blunt instrument?. Journal of Peace Research, 50(1), 121-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343312456224

Cortright, D. (2018). Economic sanctions: panacea or peacebuilding in a post-cold war world?. Routledge.Miyagawa, M. (2016). Do economic sanctions work?. Springer.

Neuenkirch, M., & Neumeier, F. (2015). The impact of U.N. and U.S. economic sanctions on GDP growth. European Journal of Political Economy, 40, 110-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2015.09.001