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Sanctions on Russia: Good or Bad?

Economic sanctions refer to the withdrawal of financial relations and customary trade for purposes of foreign and security policies (Masters, 2019). International bodies and national governments have imposed economic sanctions to shame, deter, penalize, or coerce entities that jeopardize or imperil their interests or disrupt global behavioural norms (Peksen, 2019). Sanctions have been employed to advance a variety of international policy objectives, including counternarcotic, counterterrorism, non-proliferation, conflict resolution, human rights and democracy promotion, and cyber-security (Nadin, 2014). In this paper, I share my belief on whether imposition of sanctions in recent years on Russia has been a wise policy move and whether my position is affected by the kind of sanctions that are enforced and/or imposed.

The United States (U.S.) has enforced sanctions upon Russian firms for the transfer of technology and arms that the U.S. has opposed from the 1990s. Similarly, sanctions have been enforced upon Russian banks, individuals, along with Russian business associates like North Korea, Iran, Syria as well as other nations whose domestic or international policies disrupt global norms or the U.S.’s preferences (Korhonen, Simola & Solanko, 2018). The sanctions have included prohibitions upon Russian entities or individuals involved from engaging in commerce in the U.S.

Personally, I believe that the imposition of sanctions on Russia have been a wise move. According to Korhonen, Simola and Solanko (2018), the sanctions have sufficiently helped in controlling Russia’s conducts in the U.S. and Ukraine, among other countries, sending a vivid message regarding long-term prices of Kremlin’s disruptive and hazardous international policy course. Russia’s arms trade and supplier, which is the second globally after the U.S.’s and even beat the U.S.’s in 2013, has habitually created issues that involve nations posing non-proliferation worries for the federal government of the U.S. (Wang, 2015). The fact that the U.S. and other countries or agencies have been forced to enforce sanctions on some Russian entities on several occasions, specifically Rosoboronexport, implies that Russian private businesses and government officials have a willingness to challenge and disobey U.S. and other agencies or countries’ demands regardless of the potential repercussions (Gros & Mustilli, 2015). If anything, sanctions are enforced to prevent or end underlying bad behaviours.

Nonetheless, my above position has somewhat been affected by the kind of sanctions that are being enforced and/or imposed. Overreliance upon sanctions in tackling Russia’s dangers undercut her effectiveness over long and medium terms as, for instance, the Kremlin inevitably develops techniques and strategies to avert sanctions or to minimize their impact at minimum. Thus, there is need for enforcers of sanctions upon Russia not to overly concentrate upon sanctions, but rather focus on maintaining a long-term, balanced approach in which sanctions are coupled with larger strategic objectives. Similarly, sanctions are often not a viable option due to characteristics of various situations or the views of the sanctioned players, besides the fact that sanctions are often not aptly imposed.