The Study on Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Economic Sanctions

This paper analyzes the factors influencing the effectiveness of economic sanctions imposed on sanctioned countries in the international community. It sets up causal variables at both domestic and international levels and, through an analysis of four countries that have been subjected to economic sanctions, seeks to determine which variables mitigated the effectiveness of economic sanctions. Domestic variables are set as the political system and economic size of the sanctioned country, while international variables include trade networks, foreign direct investment, involvement of international organizations, and alliance formation (presence of assisting countries). Analyzing the causes, progress, and effects of economic sanctions imposed on Iran, Russia, Myanmar, and India-Pakistan, it is found that both domestic and international variables had an impact. Particularly, the presence of assisting countries, known as the third-country effect, is analyzed to have a positive impact on sanction acceptability. Applying this to North Korea to verify the impact of the wavering effectiveness of economic sanctions due to the third-country effect, the study aims to find implications for efficient economic sanction measures that can lead to behavioral changes in North Korea in the future.