Introduction

What are the social conditions within sanctions conflicts that are conducive to either cooperation or non-cooperation? The introduction makes the case for a sociological theory of sanctions conflicts and presents a condensed version of the analytical model subsequently developed in the book. In its first section, the introduction portrays the limitations of existing economistic notions of sanctions conflicts as consisting of an adherence to a simplistic sender–receiver model of communication. Most notably, such reliance makes it difficult to account for the way in which sanctions conflicts evolve dynamically. In the face of these limitations, the introduction outlines a sociological understanding of a) how sanctions acquire meaning, b) how opponents of sanctions construct conflict and c) the relationship between sanctions and conflict transformation. These understandings represent the key conceptual elements of a sociological theory, condensed into an analytical model of coercive sanctions in international conflict.