EPISODE · Mar 19, 2025 · 18 MIN
Back & Forth 3: Do Sanctions Work?
from Audio Briefs · host Center for Strategic and International Studies
An audio version of “Back & Forth 3: Do Sanctions Work?” Focusing on Russia as the main case study, Nick Kumleben argues that sanctions fail because of their ease of circumvention and inability to deter bad actors. Moreover, he asserts that multilateral sanctions may have only been possible in an era of unchallenged U.S. leadership. CSIS’s Philip A. Luck and Andrea Leonard Palazzi counter that his piece underappreciates the true deterrence power of sanctions, overlooks their success at degrading Russia’s war-making ability and overfocuses on trade relative to financial restrictions, which are much harder to bypass at scale and lie at the core of modern sanctions.
What this episode covers
An audio version of “Back & Forth 3: Do Sanctions Work?” Focusing on Russia as the main case study, Nick Kumleben argues that sanctions fail because of their ease of circumvention and inability to deter bad actors. Moreover, he asserts that multilateral sanctions may have only been possible in an era of unchallenged U.S. leadership. CSIS’s Philip A. Luck and Andrea Leonard Palazzi counter that his piece underappreciates the true deterrence power of sanctions, overlooks their success at degrading Russia’s war-making ability and overfocuses on trade relative to financial restrictions, which are much harder to bypass at scale and lie at the core of modern sanctions.
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Back & Forth 3: Do Sanctions Work?
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