ABSTRACT
Irony provides an enduring fascination for the historian. It emerged in the early stages of research for the present work, when sanctions and embargoes often appeared more costly for those that sanctioned than for those who were sanctioned. The idea that one state should make another pay for unacceptable behaviour by imposing greater economic costs on itself than those endured by the target state does indeed appear ironic. But, as the investigation into US policies proceeded, it became apparent that this involved more of a semblance of irony than a reality. Once costs and benefits are calculated broadly, and not simply in crude economic terms, the balance between gains and losses shifts. As this study demonstrates, there are important non-economic dimensions to economic statecraft that need to be drawn into the calculation of costs and benefits.
