Sanctions and Third-party Compliance with US Foreign Policy Preferences: An Analysis of Dual-use Trade

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ostensibly bilateral US foreign policy actions, such as sanctions, can influence third-party compliance with US policy preferences. US sanctions simultaneously signal US preferences and demonstrate leverage, which can motivate third parties to avoid or change proscribed behavior proactively. Empirical testing of this strategic behavior typically is difficult given that it predicts non-events in a noisy signaling environment. However, I argue that the global trade of dual-use commodities—those with both civilian and military purposes—is a phenomenon where we can observe this process systematically. I isolate US sanctions that provide relevant context both by stigmatizing the target and signaling that third-party dual-use exports to the target would directly undermine US policy goals. Using newly-coded bilateral data spanning the post-Cold War period, I find evidence that relevant US sanctions are associated with lower third-party dual-use exports to US-sanctioned states. My findings have implications for scholars and policy-makers, suggesting a broad yet shrouded ability of sanctions to advance US foreign policy goals.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1820-1846
Number of pages27
JournalJournal of Conflict Resolution
Volume65
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2021

Keywords

  • economic sanctions
  • foreign policy
  • international security
  • trade

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Business, Management and Accounting
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Political Science and International Relations

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Sanctions and Third-party Compliance with US Foreign Policy Preferences: An Analysis of Dual-use Trade'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this