ABSTRACT
The utility of economic sanctions is a broad topic, which must be narrowed considerably if people are to make useful statements about sanctions as policies. Broadly speaking, economic sanctions include a wide range of penalties such as: embargoes on financial and commercial dealings; restrictions on the use of transport; and restricted communications of all kinds. There are several possible foreign policy objectives that may be sought by imposing economic sanctions in response to a threat or misconduct by another country. The generally accepted goal is to influence the conduct of the political actors in another country who refuse to conform to accepted norms of international conduct. Economic sanctions can bring about a loss of face by undermining, over time, the legitimacy of a particular government. The United States has for many years maintained economic embargoes on all products and technical data to the governments of North Korea, Vietnam, Kampuchea, and Cuba.
