New Article by L.M. Sokolshchik: “Russia-Related Sanctions Programs: Factors of US Sanctions Policy Evolution”
Brill has published a new article by Lev Markovich Sokolshchik, Associate Professor at the Department of Foreign Regional Studies, Deputy Director of the Center for Educational Programs of the Institute for World Military Economy and Strategy, and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies (CCEIS), HSE University.
Main content of the publication:
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The study relies on the transitive approach of neoclassical realism and models the influence of structural and element-based factors on the evolution of US sanctions policy toward Russia.
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The research employs a comprehensive methodology that combines quantitative and narrative analysis, as well as an adapted aggregated index of national power (Chang), which made it possible to effectively examine US sanctions programs against Russia.
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The author demonstrates that the redistribution of power in international relations reduces the effectiveness of American sanctions and opens opportunities for Russia to mitigate costs and diversify risks by strengthening its own components of power and engaging with alternative power centers (e.g., China).
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Using Russia as a case study, the article argues that in conditions of weakening American hegemony, Washington increasingly resorts not to balancing but to suppressing competitors, which leads to the growing role of sanctions in the US foreign policy arsenal.
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At the domestic level, US sanctions policy is largely shaped by how American political elites perceive the Russian threat.
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As the world system moves toward multipolarity, sanctions will remain a key instrument of US foreign policy, and their application will only expand.
This work has been supported by grants from the Russian Science Foundation, RSF, 23-18-00535, https://rscf.ru/project/23-18-00535/
The full text is available at the link