Economic warfare
Economic warfare uses restrictions on trade, finance, or access to resources to weaken an adversary or pressure it to change its behavior.
Economic sanctions: Government-imposed restrictions on economic relations with a target state, organization, or person. Sanctions are a central tool for restricting an adversary’s trade, finance, or access to assets.
Continental System: Napoleon’s policy of restricting European trade with Britain, instituted in 1806. Its enforcement difficulties reveal how a broad trade cutoff can also burden participating states.
Humanitarian impact of sanctions: The effects of economic restrictions on civilians’ access to food, medicine, income, and essential services. Restrictions can impose costs on populations far beyond the officials they are meant to influence.
Diplomatic coercion: The use of diplomatic threats or penalties to pressure another actor to change its conduct. Diplomatic measures apply pressure through political relations rather than primarily through economic restrictions.
Trade embargo: A government prohibition or severe restriction on trade with a specified country or territory. An embargo applies economic pressure by blocking designated imports, exports, or both.
United States embargo against Japan: A series of United States restrictions on exports to Japan, culminating in an oil embargo in 1941. The embargo illustrates how resource restrictions can intensify a crisis rather than secure compliance.
Sanctions effectiveness: The extent to which economic restrictions achieve their stated political or security objectives. Pressure may damage an economy without changing the target government’s decisions.
Military coercion: The use or threat of armed force to compel another actor to change its behavior. It seeks compliance through military danger instead of disruption to economic exchange.
Naval blockade: A military operation that uses naval forces to prevent maritime traffic from reaching or leaving a specified area. A blockade can isolate an adversary’s ports and interrupt the flow of goods by force.
United Nations sanctions against Iraq: Trade and financial restrictions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The case exposed the humanitarian costs and enforcement challenges of comprehensive sanctions.