Sanctions and South Africa

Thesis



This thesis studies sanctions and South Africa to show that sanctions can be an effective instrument of foreign policy. It provides a general study on sanctions and South Africa that is not limited to economic factors alone. It develops a framework for analysis using legal, economic and political factors that form the components of sanctions such as the legality of sanctions, the actors which impose sanctions, types of sanctions, the purposes and targets of sanctions, and the response of targets. The effectiveness of sanctions as an instrument of foreign policy is assessed, and factors that limit or enhance their effectiveness are identified.

The investigation is in two parts. The first part uses the framework to examine international cases other than South Africa. The second part uses the same framework to examine sanctions against South Africa. Fundamental to the study is the fact that although sanctions are widely used in the conduct of international relations, the research on them is meagre in comparison with the available literature on other instruments of foreign policy such as diplomacy and war.

The study finds that from a legal viewpoint there is no apparent rule in international law that prohibits the imposition of sanctions. For sanctions to succeed, sanctioners must commit themselves to making the sanctions work from the point of implementation and enforcement. Different types of sanctions achieve different levels of effectiveness. Even if sanctions do not fulfil their stated purpose, they do often fulfil other purposes which may, in fact, be more important. When faced with sanctions, targets invariably react to their imposition. The effectiveness of sanctions cannot be measured by economic and stated objectives alone. When additional criteria are used, it is found that contrary to conventional wisdom, sanctions are an effective instrument of foreign policy.

Authors: Wilson, J; Wilson, Jeya

• Publication date: 1995
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Subjects: Economic sanctions; South Africa