Sanctions have become the go-to response of Western states to geopolitical threats, partly thanks to the perception that they are a non-violent alternative to war. However, the economic damage they inflict on nations, relative to their efficacy as a policy tool, is often poorly understood, creating the risk that sanctions have become a means of ‘doing something’ without considering what exactly is being done. In his presentation, Dr Richard Connolly considers the ways in which the West's Russia sanctions, especially those imposed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, do and don't work.
Dr Richard Connolly is director of the Eastern Advisory Group, a consultancy, and an associate fellow at RUSI. He previously led the University of Birmingham's Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies as director from 2011 to 2020. A specialist on the Russian economy, Connolly holds a doctorate from the University of Birmingham.