미국의 경제 제재 활용 동인(動因) 연구

Abstract

The use of economic sanctions has increased significantly, and it is worth noting that the United States is the country that uses them the most. Why does the United States frequently use economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool despite decades of debate over the effectiveness of economic sanctions? This study suggests that the U.S. government's decision to impose economic sanctions is influenced by domestic political and economic factors and not necessarily by external pressures. To this end, economic sanctions against Iraq in 1990 and Iran in 2011 and 2012, both imposed by the United States, were selected as representative cases for comparative analysis. The U.S. administrations used economic sanctions to divert constituencies’ attention during times of election periods and economic downturns, even though they were in different diplomatic environments. In other words, even if tensions between the United States and its targets are high, the need for the United States to implement economic sanctions may not increase if domestic political and economic factors do not work. In this regard, it is necessary to closely observe various domestic factors that can drive the use of U.S. economic sanctions in the face of rising tensions between countries in the global economy and security sector in recent years.