Strategy of Sanctions: From Antiquity to the 21st Century - Softcover

S. C. M. Paine, Anand Toprani

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0472058231 ISBN 13: 9780472058235

Publisher: University of Michigan Press, 2026

Synopsis

In recent decades, sanctions have become the preferred tool for the nonviolent coercion of other nations. The US government employs sanctions and embargoes to pressure not only enemies but sometimes even its friends. Despite their ubiquity, the debate over their efficacy continues. Measuring their success is controversial since many sanctions are economic, while the desired outcomes are political. Under what circumstances can sanctions or embargoes deliver their intended policy objectives at an acceptable cost? How can they best be integrated with other available instruments of national power? The Strategy of Sanctions uses case studies from antiquity to the present to evaluate the strategic utility of sanctions and embargoes. The authors utilize a blended approach combining earlier definitions of sanctions, concepts from teaching of strategy, as well as terms of their own creation. They apply a common framework for teaching strategy, which disaggregates operational-level from strategic-level goals, and goals from strategies. By examining sanctions in different eras and contexts, the book highlights the circumstances that are most conducive to their efficacy.

About this title

About the Author

S. C. M. Paine is Professor Emerita of History and Grand Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College.

Anand Toprani is Professor of Strategy & Policy at the U.S. Naval War College.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0472058231
• ISBN 13: 9780472058235
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 478