U.S. Presidents and the Use of Economic Sanctions

Abstract

What conditions lead the U. S. president to use and alter economic sanctions? Both relations with the target country and domestic politics are considered as conditions leading to the employment and later removal of economic sanctions. Using time-series cross-sectional data, the analysis shows that the president considers both the relations with the target country and U. S. domestic factors when deciding to impose economic sanctions, although the relations with the target have a much greater impact on the decision. Once the economic sanctions are in place and the president must decide to maintain or alter them, the domestic political influence disappears, and the president considers only the relations with the target when modifying sanction policy.