When Sanctions Replace Strategy in U.S. Africa Policy

Sanctions have become a default instrument of foreign policy. From Sudan and Zimbabwe to Russia, Cuba, and Iran, they are often the first response to crisis. But do sanctions actually change behavior, or do they simply signal that something has been done?In this episode of The Africa Program Podcast, Mvemba Phezo Dizolele speaks with Brad Brooks-Rubin, partner at Arc Torus and former senior advisor in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, to unpack how modern sanctions regimes work and why they so often fall short of their stated goals.Brooks-Rubin traces the evolution of sanctions from broad countrywide embargoes to targeted measures aimed at individuals, companies, and financial networks. He argues that sanctions are not behavior-change tools but behavior-disruption tools, designed to create leverage for diplomacy. Without a clear policy objective and the political will to target enablers, sanctions risk becoming a substitute for strategy.The conversation explores case studies from Zimbabwe, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Iran, and Cuba, examining the role of financial systems, conflict minerals, outside enablers, and global power politics. It also addresses a persistent question: when sanctions are lifted, why do economies often fail to rebound?A candid and wide-ranging discussion on leverage, diplomacy, political will, and the limits of economic pressure in Africa and beyond.