Author:

Keywords:

Social Sciences, Area Studies, International Relations, Political Science, Government & Law, UN security council, sanctions, middle east and north Africa (MENA), effectiveness, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS, ECONOMIC SANCTIONS, POLITICS, 1603 Demography, 1605 Policy and Administration, 1606 Political Science, 4407 Policy and administration, 4408 Political science

Abstract:

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This article advances knowledge on the old but still relevant question of what explains the effectiveness of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. Building on the Targeted Sanctions Consortium data-set, it uses a Qualitative Comparative Analysis to analyse why these sanctions are (not) effective in coercing, constraining, and signalling targets in the Middle East and North Africa between 1991 and 2014. Confirming that sanctions’ effectiveness is causally complex, this article has three main findings. First, trade diversion and EU sanctions play a crucial role in explaining (in)effective coercion. Second, while the combination of aviation sanctions and EU sanctions results in effective constraining, the UN Security Council seems to struggle with constraining non-governmental actors. Third, there are multiple routes to (in)effective signalling yet targeting key supporters and avoiding abstentions at the UN Security Council seem key to success.