A Public Choice Analysis of the Political Economy of International Sanctions

Abstract

The notion that the causes and effects of international economic sanctions are channelled through domestic politics in both the sanctioning and target countries is certainly nothing new to the international relations literature. In identifying expressive as opposed to instrumental impacts, Galtung (1967) suggested that economic sanctions might be usefully viewed as political signaling devices. Lindsay (1986) discussed the symbolism of sanctions both in regard to domestic and international constituencies. More recently, Morgan and Schwebach (1996) have used a spatial bargaining model to show that sanctions can be successful in attaining their political objectives in the target country under certain circumstances if the sanctions impose significant costs on politically powerful segments of the target society.