National Security

Revitalizing American Institutions

Contributing Scholar: H. R. McMaster

Sanctions as Statecraft

Sanctions can advance U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives, but effective employment requires intelligence, coordination, and an effort to avoid historical pitfalls.

Sanctions as Statecraft

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Sanctions as Statecraft

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Published August 18, 2025

Sanctions can be a formidable instrument of national power — advancing security, deterring aggression, and promoting liberty. Their success depends on integration within a coherent strategy, rigorous targeting, and timely execution. Historical successes and failures — from the Cold War to Venezuela — demonstrate that sanctions, when precisely targeted and applied with strategic discipline, can weaken authoritarian regimes while limiting harm to civilian populations. Properly conceived and enforced, they remain an indispensable pillar of U.S. foreign policy.

Check out more from H.R. McMaster:

Watch the Battlegrounds podcast with H.R. McMaster here.
Read "Sanctions as a Tool of Economic Statecraft" by H.R. McMaster here.
Read "Lessons for Israel from the American War on al-Qaeda" by H.R. McMaster here.

Learn more about H.R. McMaster here.

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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.