Sanctions and Security
Although a great deal of the Forum’s early work was focused on reducing nuclear dangers, a major sanctions evaluation initiative began in 1992 when David Cortright joined the Forum. At that time, the international spotlight was focused on the effectiveness and negative impact of sanctions as the United Nations was imposing sanctions to disarm Iraq and end the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
Soon thereafter, in partnership with the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, the Forum established the Sanctions and Security Research Program. The program blends the Kroc Institute’s emphasis on peaceful settlement of disputes through international norms and institutions with the Forum’s focus on economic means of peace building and the control of weapons of mass destruction through global cooperation to enforce international laws. Today, the Sanctions and Security Research Program is one of the world’s leading research centers on sanctions and security issues.
Our core areas of focus:
• Convening leading experts and civil society groups in the sanctions field
• Publishing articles, reports, and books (almost 100 in total over the last 18 years) based on in-depth research conducted by the sanctions team
• Advising agencies of the UN and providing consulting advice to governments including Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland
The Sanctions and Security Research Program team is able to transform its in-depth research into policy. It played a key role internationally by recommending the shift from general trade sanctions that can harm innocent civilian populations to the use of more targeted measures (also called smart sanctions). Today, targeted sanctions are employed with increasing frequency and sophistication by the United States as well as by the UN, the European Union, and the African Union.
The Sanctions and Security Research Program has received support from the United States Institute of Peace, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the W. Alton Jones Foundation, the International Peace Academy (currently the International Peace Institute), and the foreign ministries of Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Please visit the Sanctions and Security Research Program website for more information.
