Economic Sanctions: Theory, Cases and Evidence

GEORGE A. LOPEZ, University of Notre Dame

June 10-12, 2004 in Stony Brook Manhattan, New York City Apply: SUSB

Over the past dozen years economic sanctions have been used with increased frequency in world affairs as a 'peaceful' means of dispute settlement that retains a coercive 'bite' similar to war. In a dozen celebrated cases economic sanctions have been adopted by the United Nations Security Council, while the European Union tops the list of multinational institutions which have engaged in sanctions, often to improve human rights.

This course will examine the design, effectiveness, adaptation and future of economic sanctions in global affairs, with special attention to the difficult, contrasting cases of Iraq and Yugoslavia. We also will examine new issues, such as international diamond boycotts, the mixes of sanctions and incentives to inspire internal regime change, and the control of the small arms trade, as well as weapons of mass destruction.

Participants will receive complementary copies of Smart Sanctions, (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) and Sanctions and the Search for Security (Rienner,2002), both by David Cortright and George A. Lopez. Additional reading and teaching material also will be provided.

For college teachers of: in the social sciences and humanities.
Prerequisities: None

Dr. Lopez is Senior Fellow and Director of Policy Studies at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Lopez’s research interests focus primarily on the problems of state violence and coercion, especially economic sanctions, and gross violations of human rights. He also has an interest in ethical issues related to these questions. His work has been published in Chitty’s Law Journal, Human Rights Quarterly, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, International Studies Quarterly, The Fletcher Forum, Journal of International Affairs, The International Journal of Human Rights, and Ethics and International Affairs. With Michael Stohl, he has been editor and contributor to five books on repression and state terror, most notably, Government Violence and Repression: An Agenda for Research.