Listen to "Trading with Sanctioned States" with DI Fellow Bryan Early

In a Dubai Initiative Brown Bag Seminar on February 6, 2009, Bryan Early discussed how economic sanctions affect their targets' trade with third party states. He argued that support from third party states is difficult because these states' interests are primarily commercial. In his exploration of American sanctions from 1950-2000, Early attested that allies of the state imposing the sanctions may be more likely to engage in sanctions-busting by exploiting commercial opportunities in the target state. His presentation examined Dubai as the leading venue for conducting sanctions-busting trade on Iran's behalf during American sanctions. Early's findings prompted discussion on how economic sanctions can be more effective and when their application may not be appropriate.