How Sanctions Work: Lessons from South Africa (International Political Economy Series)

Eleven respected scholars from South Africa, Canada and the U.S. weigh the evidence regarding the sanctions which were imposed on apartheid South Africa for decades. Although anti-apartheid activists thought sanctions would help topple the regime, most government officials, journalists, and scholars following conventional wisdom argued that they were at best ineffective because embargoes are never airtight. The essays in this collection contain new information which shows how sanctions both directly and indirectly hurt the apartheid regime while in some cases offering succor to the anti-apartheid movement.