The sanctions illusion
Financial sanctions rarely achieve their strategic objectives, and they inflict predictable, severe, and regressive harm on civilian populations.
The article "The sanctions illusion" in Free Malaysia Today argues that economic sanctions, such as the US-imposed financial sanctions on Iran in 2012, are not as precise as their proponents claim. The study using microdata from Iranian household income and expenditure surveys reveals that poorer households suffer significantly more than wealthier ones, losing up to 2.8 times more in purchasing power.
This regressive impact is due to the loss of ability to process international transactions, import goods, and maintain foreign-exchange reserves, leading to inflation that disproportionately affects ordinary households. The article emphasizes the moral implications of sanctions, highlighting their distributional harms and the need to consider these realities in the ethical evaluation of coercive statecraft.
Brief written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- The sanctions illusion freemalaysiatoday.com
