Shrewd Sanctions: Statecraft and State Sponsors of Terrorism

(Paperback)

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O'Sullivan, an expert on the use of positive and negative tools of economic statecraft, argues that in the post-September 11 international climate, the US will be even more willing to use its economic power to advance its foreign policy goals than in the past. This impulse, she argues, can lead to a more effective foreign policy, given the many ways in which sanctions and incentives can forcefully advance US interests. However, a recalibration of these tools - sanctions in particular - is necessary in order for them to live up to their potential. Critical to such a reassessment is a thorough understanding of how the post-Cold War international environment - globalization and American primacy in particular - has influenced how sanctions work. O'Sullivan addresses this issue in a thorough examination of sanctions-dominated policies in place against Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan. Her findings not only hightlight the many ways in which sanctions have often been poorly suited to acheive their goals in the past, but also suggest how policymakers might use these tools to better effect in the future.

Reviews

"Quite simply, this is the best book on economic sanctions and American foreign policy that I have ever read. Shrewd Sanctions is a model of how to blend scholarly analysis with policy-relevant research." David A. Baldwin, Columbia University, 1/1/2003

"Shrewd Sanctions breaks new ground in moving beyond the narrow sanctions' debate to address more pertinent concerns about thow sanctions fit into a post-cold war, post-9/11 approach to American Foreign policy." Rhodes, Middle East, 5/1/2003

"O'Sullivan has produced a superb study of sanctions that should be required reading for UN and US policy-makers." David Cortright, President, Forth Freedom Forum, Contemporary Security Policy, 8/1/2003

"...a superbly written investigation of the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions against Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Sudan. In each case study, O'Sullivan meticulously examines the economic and political impact of sanctions, the extent to which they achieved their policy goals, the costs borne to the United States, and the utility of sanctions relative to other alternatives, like the use of military force or diplomatic engagement." Mark Strauss, Foreign Policy, Chronicle of Higher Education, 6/13/2003

"Shrewd Sanctions is a wise book of advice about how the United States can better integrate the use of economic sanctions into effective foreign policy....this book should still be required reading for US policy makers, including members of Congress." Clement M. Henry, University of Texas at Austin, Middle East Journal, 9/1/2003

"... display of the positive and negative aspects of economic tools, those inducements or sanctions related to political diplomacy.... The book offers, through its case studies, an important opportunity to examine the strategies and effects of sanctions in the four targeted countries from a purely political and economic, rather than a humanitarian, perspective.... Her incisive dismemberment of the sanctions strategies and their potential optimal applications allows the reader to observe carefully and cogently the dynamics operating in this area of international power and drama.... The reader will do well to consider her important work with due diligence and appreciation." Dr. Shyrl Topp Matias, Punahou School, International Journal on World Peace, 9/1/2003

"Meghan O'Sullivan offers new thinking about using sanctions and other economic tools to address our most serious foreign policy challenges. This well-written book offers thoughtful analysis and pragmatic prescriptions and, ultimately, a better understanding of how the United States can use its economic power in the pursuit of its national security interests in the post-9/11 era." General Brent Scowcroft, former U.S. national security adviser, 1/1/2003

"Shrewd Sanctions is an authoritative look at how sanctions work as a tool of U.S. foreign policy. In evaluating the record of sanctions on Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan, Meghan O'Sullivan offers important, practical recommendations for how American policymakers should deal with state sponsors of terrorism." Lee H. Hamilton, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1/1/2003

"Shrewd Sanctions offers fresh insight into the sanctions debate, looking beyond general arguments over whether sanctions do or don't work to how and when sanctions policies can be crafted to deliver results. Of particular relevance is O'Sullivan's examination of sanctions in the context of pressing foreign policy challenges: terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Her analysis and recommendations will be invaluable to policymakers and stakeholders engaged with this important issue." Samuel R. Berger, former U.S. national security adviser, 1/1/2003

Author Bio

Meghan L. O'Sullivan is a staff member in the Policy Planning division of the State Department and a former fellow in the foreign policy studies program at the Brookings Institution. She is the co-editor, with Ambassador Richard Haass, of Honey and Vinegar: Incentives, Sanctions, and Foreign Policy (Brookings, 2000).