The Heat: Do sanctions work?

The Heat

For decades now, various countries have been hit with economic sanctions. The measures are generally imposed after diplomacy has failed. But, depending on the country, the results have been mixed.

In March, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to impose tough new sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The move was an effort to halt the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs and to prevent nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula.

Meanwhile, the United States and Cuba have restored diplomatic relations after 50 years of America’s embargo of the Caribbean island. But, despite U.S. President Barack Obama calling the economic sanctions a failure, the controversial embargo remains in place.

After years of conflict over Iran’s nuclear program, talks resulted in a deal in 2015 that ended decades of international economic sanctions against the country. Still, some new U.S. sanctions are again in place over a recent missile test.

Russia is also being hit by Western sanctions. The United States and the EU imposed the measures in 2014 after accusing Russia of interfering in the conflict in Ukraine.

So, the big question is, do sanctions work? 


To discuss the issue of sanctions, we were joined by:

  • Jenny Town, Assistant Director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
  • Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.
  • Sergey Aleksashenko, former deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
  • Simond De Galbert, a visiting fellow with the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.