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Available Now: The Art of Sanctions: A View From the Field

The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) is pleased to announce the launch of a new book from Columbia University Press, The Art of Sanctions: A View From the Field, by Senior Research Scholar Richard Nephew.

In The Art of Sanctions, Nephew—a leader in the design and implementation of sanctions on Iran—offers a much-needed practical framework for planning and applying sanctions that focuses not just on the initial sanctions strategy but also, crucially, on how to calibrate along the way and how to decide when sanctions have achieved maximum effectiveness. 

By focusing on lessons learned from sanctions on both Iran and Iraq, Nephew develops guidelines for interpreting targets’ responses to sanctions based on two critical factors: pain and resolve. The efficacy of sanctions lies in the application of pain against a target, but targets may have significant resolve to resist, tolerate, or overcome this pain. Understanding the interplay of pain and resolve is central to using sanctions both successfully and humanely. With attention to these two key variables, and to how they change over the course of a sanctions regime, policy makers can pinpoint when diplomatic intervention is likely to succeed or when escalation is necessary.

The Art of Sanctions can be purchased online through Columbia University Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other book sellers.

The Center on Global Energy Policy also invites you to join us tonight in New York City to celebrate the launch of the book. Beginning at 6pm ET, Richard will offer remarks and key insights from the book, followed by a panel of experts to discuss sanctions policy and current events. Find out more and register here.