Economic Financial sanctions: What, why and do they work?
by Christina Poursanidou, Lawyer Economic sanctions have a vital role in the global financial industry. The majority of countries have imposed sanctions or had sanctions imposed against either them or their citizens. Considering the above, it is important to have a clear understanding of the definition and the rationale of economic sanctions. Do the economic sanctions really work or do the negatives results outweigh the positives? Economic sanctions have both diplomatic and economic nature. They are defined as restrictive measures against a target government, or non-state entities and individuals. They may comprise export and/or import bans, bans on the provision of specific services (brokering, financial services, technical assistance), flight bans, prohibitions on investment, payments and capital movements, or the withdrawal of tariff preferences. Undoubtedly, all these restrictions may cause financial and humanitarian crises to the target countries. So, what is the ratio of these