Are Sanctions An Effective Policy Tool?

Open to Debate

Education, Society & Culture, News, Government, Politics

4.5 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Open to Debate, in partnership with the Human Rights Foundation and the Oslo Freedom Forum, is examining a strategy employed by many countries to respond to aggressive or authoritarian regimes. In recent years, these have been levied against countries such as Russia, Venezuela, and Iran, which have ranged from freezing assets and trade bans to travel restrictions and full embargoes. But do sanctions work in deterring repression? Those arguing that they’re effective claim that they’re a nonviolent way to force change and serve as a deterrent for other countries. Those who are skeptical about the efficacy of sanctions say they are leaky, don’t lead to regime change, and can harm civilians and exacerbate humanitarian crises. Now with this background, we debate the question: Are Sanctions an Effective Policy Tool? This debate was produced in partnership with the Human Rights Foundation and was recorded at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway, on May 26, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
0:04.8	Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand.
0:12.5	Marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time.
0:17.5	From startups to scaleups, online, in person, and on the go. Shopify is made for
0:22.9	entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:33.7	This is open to debate. Hi everybody. I'm John Donvan. We are in Norway for this one, honored to participate in the Oslo Freedom Forum. That's an annual event put on by the Human Rights Foundation. We are debating the merits of a certain tool of statecraft, one that is deployed when one country aims to change another country's behavior that it doesn't like,
0:54.8	and diplomacy is not getting the job done, but war would be going too far.
0:58.9	It's a tool that lies in between on the spectrum of coercion.
1:03.4	Sanctions.
1:04.2	I am talking about sanctions.
1:05.8	Measures like restricting trade or freezing assets or banning travel or boycotting sports events. Sanctions are designed to pressure or to deter or to punish. The U.S., the EU, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, and Australia are all leading sanctioners. Some commonly targeted places nowadays, states like Russia, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela.
1:28.5	So do these measures make sense?
1:30.3	Do they work?
1:31.2	Do they backfire?
1:32.4	That's what we're here to debate around this question.
1:35.0	Are sanctions an effective policy tool?
1:38.7	First, I wanted to reintroduce the President of Human Rights Foundation,
1:42.1	Salinasov Bustani, and the CEO of my organization, open to debate, Clay O'Connor.
1:52.4	So I've been coming and working for the Osophidun Forum for 12 years,
1:57.9	and I still enjoy every minute, of course. But one thing I've noticed is the most
2:04.1	profound things happened outside the theater. When people are having conversations in the
2:12.0	hallway during lunch, during the evening dinners, this is where the guest's worldviews are challenged.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 18 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Open to Debate, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Open to Debate and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.