Gary Hufbauer

Sanctions are a foreign policy tool used to punish or persuade another country to change its behavior by restricting its ability to trade or cutting off its economic aid. In the following viewpoint, Gary Hufbauer argues that while imposing sanctions may occasionally achieve a particular foreign policy objective, sanctions generally make matters worse for innocent people and businesses. Furthermore, he maintains, sanctions imposed by the West rarely have an impact on authoritarian governments, who see them as an isolated measure that is unlikely to be followed by any display of force. Hufbauer holds the Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, director of studies, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He is the coauthor of Economic Sanctions Reconsidered.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Hufbauer, what percentage...