ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies some of the general patterns, and in the process begins to build a theoretical case for Principled Engagement with repressive states. Ostracism, to some degree or another, has become the default approach by Western governments to highly repressive states in the post-cold war era. Some limitations of Ostracism are intrinsic. It also increases the risk that the target will dismiss the efforts as just another "neo-imperialist ploy", especially if the sender is a major power. The opportunity costs of sanctions are harder to measure but potentially of major concern. Over the past decade and a half, growing recognition of the political limitations, and especially the humanitarian cost, of comprehensive sanctions regimes have seen both an intellectual and a practical shift towards the use of so-called "smart" or targeted sanctions. Business as Usual, as a strategy for promoting human rights, essentially rests on a positive story of economic globalisation.
