International Sanctions. Macroeconomic effects and retaliation

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Economics - Finance grade: 50/ A language: English abstract: In various instances countries regional organizations and the United Nations have resorted to the use of sanctions as a foreign policy as a tool for geopolitics in order to influence the behavior of targeted states. Numerous researches and analyses have been conducted to observe and understand the effectiveness and impact of sanctions and subsequently dismissed them as either effective ineffective or counterproductive to their intended objectives.This dissertation seeks to address the aforementioned question; in particular whether sanctions remain to be an option as a geopolitical tool to influence the behavior of targeted states? The core of this dissertation consists of three case studies: first sanctions on Russian Federation (2014-present); sanctions on Iran (1979 - present 2006 2012 - 2016); and US trade embargo on Cuba (1960 - present). These case studies have been analyzed from the structural point of view to understand its specifics background and plausible retaliation by the state. Then the technical results achieved by the sanctions are reviewed and their weaknesses are highlighted. Lastly numerous relevant arguments are provided to reinforce the conclusion.