Ethical dilemma of economic sanctions as an external threat
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2023.208Abstract
The article aims to identify the current approaches that enable to resolve the ethical dilemma of economic sanctions, treated as a contradiction between the goals and consequences of imposing sanctions as an alternative to war and an instrument of an external threat. We consider the standard definition of economic sanctions as restrictions imposed by sender state, associated with worsening of current economic conditions in target country, aimed to force the ruling regime of the latter to change its domestic political course and/or foreign policy. The research methods include general scientific methods, comparative historical analysis and cross-country comparative analysis; elements of political and legal analysis; systematic literature review. The moral permissibility of sanctions had been reflected in the ethical dilemma of economic sanctions: the choice of sanctions as an alternative to war and an instrument of an external threat that has a potential positive impact on the policy of target country, and potential negative humanitarian consequences for the civilian population that can offset the positive results that the sender associates with a change in target country’s policy. The new paradigm in sanctions policy based on the replacement of comprehensive sanctions with targeted ones can be considered as an attempt to resolve such dilemma. We analyze the main background of this new model. We determine that the analysis of sanctions’ compliance with just war principles is essential in arguing their moral and ethical permissibility. In addition, we classify main approaches studying the moral permissibility of economic sanctions within the framework of just war theory. As a conclusion, we reveal that the application of just war principles as such to assess the moral permissibility of economic sanctions is debatable, and further research should be focused on choice and use of methodological tools that are more appropriate to the economic nature of sanctions.
Keywords:
economic sanctions, external threat, ethics, morality, just war, combatants, noncombatants, doctrine of double effect, humanitarian consequences
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Литература
Carter, B.E. (1987), International Economic Sanctions: Improving the Haphazard U. S. Legal Regime, California Law Review, vol. 75(4), pp. 1159–1278. https://doi.org/10.2307/3480594
Joyner, C.C. (1995), Sanctions and International Law, in: Cortright, D., Lopez, G.A. and Dellums, R.V. (eds), Economic Sanctions Panacea or Peacebuilding in a Post-Cold War World? Oxford: Westview Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429493935
Foley, H. (1923), Woodrow Wilson’s Case for the League of Nations, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Garfield, R. (1999), Morbidity and Mortality among Iraqi Children from 1990 to 1998: Assessing the Impact of Economic Sanctions, Occasional Paper #16:OP:3, Notre Dame: Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.
Garfield, R. (2002), Economic Sanctions, Humanitarianism, and Conflict after the Cold War, Social Justice, vol. 29, no. 3 (89), Global Threats To Security, pp. 94–107.
Winkler, A. (1999), Just Sanctions, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 21(1), pp. 133–155.
Shahabi, S., Fazlalizadeh, H., Stedman, J., Chuang, L., Shariftabrizi, A. and Ram, R. (2015), The impact of international economic sanctions on Iranian cancer healthcare, Health Policy, vol. 119, pp. 1309–1318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2015.08.012
Gordon, J. (1999), Economic Sanctions, Just War Doctrine, and the “Fearful Spectacle of the Civilian Dead”, CrossCurrents, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 387–400.
Гринберг, Р.С., Белозёров, С.А.и Соколовская, Е.В. (2021), Оценка эффективности экономических санкций. Возможности систематического анализа, Экономика региона, т. 17, вып. 2, c. 354–374. https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2021-2-1
The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response: A Pastoral Letter on War and Peace by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1983), Washington: U. S.Catholic Conference.
Walzer, M. (2006), Just and unjust wars. A moral argument with historical illustration, New York: Basic Books
Прокофьев, А.В. (2019), Идея справедливой войны в западной этической традиции (от античности до середины XVIII в.), Этическая мысль, т. 19, № 2, c. 112–127. https://doi.org/10.21146/2074-4870-2019-19-2-112-127
Pierce, A.C. (1996), Just War Principles and Economic Sanctions, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 10(1), pp. 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1996.tb00005.x
Нагайчук, А.Ф. (2021), Социально-политическая технология войны и вооруженного конфликта: некоторые аспекты истории и современности, Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Философия и конфликтология, т. 37, вып. 2, с. 281–295. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2021.208
Rule 1. The Principle of Distinction between Civilians and Combatants, International Humanitarian Law Databases. URL: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule1 (дата обращения:28.09.2022).
Early, B.R. and Schulzke, M. (2019), Still Unjust, Just in Different Ways: How Targeted Sanctions Fall Short of Just War Theory’s Principles, International Studies Review, vol. 21(1), pp. 57–80. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viy012
Rule 3. Definition of Combatants, International Humanitarian Law Databases. URL: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule3 (дата обращения: 28.09.2022).
Noncombatants. The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law. URL: https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/non-combatants/ (дата обращения: 28.09.2022).
Biersteker, T., Eckert, S. and Tourinho, M. (eds) (2016), Targeted Sanctions: The Impacts and Effectiveness of United Nations Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316460290.
Wallensteen, P. (2016), Institutional learning in targeting sanctions, in: Biersteker, T., Eckert, S. and Tourinho, M. (eds), Targeted Sanctions: The Impacts and Effectiveness of United Nations Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 248–264. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316460290
Bapat, M.A. and Morgan, T.C. (2009), Multilateral Versus Unilateral Sanctions Reconsidered: A Test Using New Data, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 53(4), pp. 1075–1094. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1468- 2478.2009.00569.X
Damrosch, L.F. (1004), The Collective Enforcement of International Norms through Economic Sanctions, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 8, pp. 58–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1994.tb00158.x
Lektzian, D.J. and Sprecher, C.M. (2007), Sanctions, Signals, and Militarized Conflict, American Journal of Political Science, vol. 51(2), pp. 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00259.x
Peksen, D. (2011), Economic Sanctions and Human Security: The Public Health Effect of Economic Sanctions, Foreign Policy Analysis, vol. 7(3), pp. 237–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-8594.2011.00136.x
Yoder, J.H. (1996), When War is Unjust: Being Honest in Just-war Thinking, Ossining: Orbis Books.
Gordon, J. (2006), A Peaceful, Silent, Deadly Remedy: The Ethics of Economic Sanctions, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 13(1), pp. 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1999.tb00330.x
Brzoska, M. (2008), Measuring the Effectiveness of Arms Embargoes, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, vol. 14(2), pp. 1–34. https://doi.org/10.2202/1554-8597.1118
Lopez, G. (1999), More Ethical Than Not: Sanctions as Surgical Tools: Response to “A Peaceful, Silent, Deadly Remedy”, Ethics and International Affairs, vol. 13 (1), pp. 143–148. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1999.tb00331.x
Pattison, J. (2015), The morality of sanctions, Social Philosophy and Policy, vol. 32 (1), pp. 192–215. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0265052515000138
Прокофьев, А.В. (2014), Моральный абсолютизм и доктрина двойного эффекта в контексте споров о допустимости применения силы, Этическая мысль, вып. 14, с. 43–64.
Amstutz, M.R. (2013), International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics, 5th ed., Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Murphy, J.M. (1979), The Killing of the Innocent, in: War, Morality, and the Military Profession, Wakin, M.M. (ed.), Boulder: Westview Press.
Clawson, P. (1993), Sanctions as Punishment, Enforcement, and Prelude to Further Action, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 7(1), pp. 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1993.tb00141.x
Christiansen, D. and Powers, G.F. (1995), Economic Sanctions and Just War Doctrine, in: em>Economic Sanctions Panacea or Peacebuilding in a Post-Cold War World?, Cortright, D., Lopez, G.A. and Dellums, R.V. (eds), Oxford: Westview Press, 1995, pp. 91–112.
Ellis, E. (2021), The Ethics of Economic Sanctions: Why Just War Theory is Not the Answer, Res Publica, vol. 27, pp. 409–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11158-020-09483-z
References
Carter, B.E. (1987), International Economic Sanctions: Improving the Haphazard U. S. Legal Regime, California Law Review, vol. 75(4), pp. 1159–1278. https://doi.org/10.2307/3480594
Joyner, C.C. (1995), Sanctions and International Law, in: Cortright, D., Lopez, G.A. and Dellums, R.V. (eds), Economic Sanctions Panacea or Peacebuilding in a Post-Cold War World? Oxford: Westview Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429493935
Foley, H. (1923), Woodrow Wilson’s Case for the League of Nations, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Garfield, R. (1999), Morbidity and Mortality among Iraqi Children from 1990 to 1998: Assessing the Impact of Economic Sanctions, Occasional Paper #16:OP:3, Notre Dame: Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.
Garfield, R. (2002), Economic Sanctions, Humanitarianism, and Conflict after the Cold War, Social Justice, vol. 29, no. 3 (89), Global Threats To Security, pp. 94–107.
Winkler, A. (1999), Just Sanctions, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 21(1), pp. 133–155.
Shahabi, S., Fazlalizadeh, H., Stedman, J., Chuang, L., Shariftabrizi, A. and Ram, R. (2015), The impact of international economic sanctions on Iranian cancer healthcare, Health Policy, vol. 119, pp. 1309–1318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2015.08.012
Gordon, J. (1999), Economic Sanctions, Just War Doctrine, and the “Fearful Spectacle of the Civilian Dead”, CrossCurrents, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 387–400.
Grinberg, R. S., Belozyorov, S.A. and Sokolovska, O. (2021), Evaluation of the effectiveness of economic sanctions. Opportunities for systematic analysis, Ekonomika regiona, vol. 17 (2), pp. 354–374.https://doi.org/10.17059/ekon.reg.2021-2-1 (In Russian
The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response: A Pastoral Letter on War and Peace by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1983), Washington: U. S.Catholic Conference.
Walzer, M. (2006), Just and unjust wars. A moral argument with historical illustration, New York: Basic Books
Prokofyev, А.V. (2019), The Idea of Just War in the Western Ethical Tradition (from Antiquity to the Mid-18th Century), Ethical Thought, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 112–127. https://doi.org/10.21146/2074-4870-2019-19-2-112-127 (In Russian)
Pierce, A.C. (1996), Just War Principles and Economic Sanctions, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 10(1), pp. 99–113. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1996.tb00005.x
Nagaichuk, А.F. (2021), Socio-political technology of war and armed conflict: Some aspects of history and modernity, Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 281–295. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2021.208 (In Russian)
Rule 1. The Principle of Distinction between Civilians and Combatants, International Humanitarian Law Databases. URL: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/customary-ihl/v1/rule1 (дата обращения:28.09.2022).
Early, B.R. and Schulzke, M. (2019), Still Unjust, Just in Different Ways: How Targeted Sanctions Fall Short of Just War Theory’s Principles, International Studies Review, vol. 21(1), pp. 57–80. https://doi.org/10.1093/isr/viy012
Rule 3. Definition of Combatants, International Humanitarian Law Databases. URL: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule3 (дата обращения: 28.09.2022).
Noncombatants. The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law. URL: https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/article/3/non-combatants/ (дата обращения: 28.09.2022).
Biersteker, T., Eckert, S. and Tourinho, M. (eds) (2016), Targeted Sanctions: The Impacts and Effectiveness of United Nations Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316460290.
Wallensteen, P. (2016), Institutional learning in targeting sanctions, in: Biersteker, T., Eckert, S. and Tourinho, M. (eds), Targeted Sanctions: The Impacts and Effectiveness of United Nations Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 248–264. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316460290
Bapat, M.A. and Morgan, T.C. (2009), Multilateral Versus Unilateral Sanctions Reconsidered: A Test Using New Data, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 53(4), pp. 1075–1094. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1468- 2478.2009.00569.X
Damrosch, L.F. (1004), The Collective Enforcement of International Norms through Economic Sanctions, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 8, pp. 58–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1994.tb00158.x
Lektzian, D.J. and Sprecher, C.M. (2007), Sanctions, Signals, and Militarized Conflict, American Journal of Political Science, vol. 51(2), pp. 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00259.x
Peksen, D. (2011), Economic Sanctions and Human Security: The Public Health Effect of Economic Sanctions, Foreign Policy Analysis, vol. 7(3), pp. 237–251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-8594.2011.00136.x
Yoder, J.H. (1996), When War is Unjust: Being Honest in Just-war Thinking, Ossining: Orbis Books.
Gordon, J. (2006), A Peaceful, Silent, Deadly Remedy: The Ethics of Economic Sanctions, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 13(1), pp. 123–142. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1999.tb00330.x
Brzoska, M. (2008), Measuring the Effectiveness of Arms Embargoes, Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, vol. 14(2), pp. 1–34. https://doi.org/10.2202/1554-8597.1118
Lopez, G. (1999), More Ethical Than Not: Sanctions as Surgical Tools: Response to “A Peaceful, Silent, Deadly Remedy”, Ethics and International Affairs, vol. 13 (1), pp. 143–148. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1999.tb00331.x
Pattison, J. (2015), The morality of sanctions, Social Philosophy and Policy, vol. 32 (1), pp. 192–215. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0265052515000138
Prokofiev, А.V. (2014), Moral Absolutism and the Doctrine of Double Effect in the Context of Debates about Moral Permissibility of the Use of Force, Ethical Thought, no. 14, pp. 43–64. (In Russian)
Amstutz, M.R. (2013), International Ethics: Concepts, Theories, and Cases in Global Politics, 5th ed., Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Murphy, J.M. (1979), The Killing of the Innocent, in: War, Morality, and the Military Profession, Wakin, M.M. (ed.), Boulder: Westview Press.
Clawson, P. (1993), Sanctions as Punishment, Enforcement, and Prelude to Further Action, Ethics & International Affairs, vol. 7(1), pp. 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7093.1993.tb00141.x
Christiansen, D. and Powers, G.F. (1995), Economic Sanctions and Just War Doctrine, in: em>Economic Sanctions Panacea or Peacebuilding in a Post-Cold War World?, Cortright, D., Lopez, G.A. and Dellums, R.V. (eds), Oxford: Westview Press, 1995, pp. 91–112.
Ellis, E. (2021), The Ethics of Economic Sanctions: Why Just War Theory is Not the Answer, Res Publica, vol. 27, pp. 409–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11158-020-09483-z
Downloads
Published
2023-06-29
How to Cite
Belozyorov, S. A., & Sokolovska, E. (2023). Ethical dilemma of economic sanctions as an external threat. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies, 39(2), 303–321. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu17.2023.208
Issue
Section
Conflict studies
License
Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Philosophy and Conflict Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.
