The Sanctions Theory: A Frail Paradigm for International Law?

Harvard International Law Journal Online, February 13, 2015

12 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2015 Last revised: 2 Apr 2015

See all articles by Farshad Ghodoosi

Farshad Ghodoosi

California State University, Northridge, Nazarian School of Business & Economics,

Date Written: January 27, 2015

Abstract

The Article argues that the theory of economic sanctions remains a vague and understudied paradigm, which has been based on shallow grounds. The social sciences’ academic debate has obsessively concentrated on the question of whether sanctions work or yield the desired results. International law scholarship for a long time limited itself with the standards applicable to the imposition of sanctions. However, recently, a new move endeavors to reformulate the entire field of international law based of the theory of sanctions. The new scholarship aims to argue that the imposition of economic sanctions should act as a long-missing element in international law, which was enforcement, a remedy that is far more humane and accessible than use of brute force. Yet, the Article shows that the sanction theory is premised on inconsistent theoretical and normative grounds. Reformulating international law based on the sanctions paradigm would create further theoretical, as well as practical, challenges for this discipline instead of resolving them.

Keywords: Sanctions, International Law Theory, International Relations

Suggested Citation

Ghodoosi, Farshad, The Sanctions Theory: A Frail Paradigm for International Law? (January 27, 2015). Harvard International Law Journal Online, February 13, 2015 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2584743

Farshad Ghodoosi (Contact Author)

California State University, Northridge, Nazarian School of Business & Economics, ( email )

18111 Nordhoff St
Northridge, CA 91330
United States

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