Jeune Street

Nicholas Kristof, in his New York Times column, raises the thorny issue of international sanctions as a way to exert pressure on Burma:

A new American presidency is a useful moment to review policy toward Myanmar, and the truth is that the West's approach has failed. The Burmese junta has ruled despotically since 1988, ignoring democratic elections. Since then, sanctions have had zero effect in moderating the regime.... Instead, the best bet is financial sanctions that specifically target individuals close to the regime - and, even more, a clampdown on Myanmar's imports of arms.

I think Kristof is right, and there's lots of evidence from the past 30 years to support him. The use of economic sanctions assumes that life can be made miserable enough for the masses that they will mobilize to hold their government accountable. But the poorest generally suffer the most and don't always resort to democratic means to express their resentment. In Iran, for example, it's the poor who have provided the electoral base for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his conservative coalition to capture power.

In non-democratic states, power is typically held by a small group of people and targeted sanctions of the type advocated by Kristof can be effective. They introduce international accountability into the decision-making equation of powerful despots who act with impunity. Where individuals aren't constrained by rules and laws, those individuals need to feel pressure.

In our report on human rights in Iran, we recommended that sanctions be applied to individual members of the regime directly involved in persecuting women and religious and ethnic minorities, by issuing travel bans and banking restrictions. The EU is already using this approach with people associated with nuclear research and development in Iran.

The use of smart sanctions is consistent with a conception of sovereignty that implies a state's responsibility to protect its people. Leaders who pursue an agenda of prejudice and persecution against particular groups should be held to account by other states. Where accountability isn't working at home, the rest of the world needs to pick up the slack.