Under Pressure: Target Governments’ Domestic and Foreign Policy Responses to Economic Sanctions

How do targeted governments respond to economic sanctions? This dissertation contributes to the literature on sanctions effectiveness and, more specifically, on target governments’ strategies for mitigating the costs of sanctions. I argue that once sanctions are imposed, the target government becomes inward-looking and focuses on adapting its domestic and foreign policies to survive sanctions. Each chapter examines specific policies designed to address potential losses in the financing, international standing and engagement, and domestic political support for the regime. The main findings suggest that target governments change their spending and borrowing patterns as they face a drop in revenue associated with economic restrictions. Furthermore, they tend to engage more actively with international organizations to maintain their international standing as part of their foreign policy. Finally, target governments intensify state propaganda to ensure their political survival, and the official narrative may be immune to counterpropaganda from sanction senders and other foreign actors. Together, these findings show that target states change their policies to restore core aspects of the pre-sanctions status quo, and senders should pay attention to these complex processes.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Sciences

Grantor

Rice University

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Valikhanova, Aiganym

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Morgan, T. Clifton

• Economic sanctions
• foreign policy
• target government
• adjustment strategies

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1911/115123

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.rice.edu:1911/115123