Published August 18, 2025
Sanctions can be a formidable instrument of national power — advancing security, deterring aggression, and promoting liberty. Their success depends on integration within a coherent strategy, rigorous targeting, and timely execution. Historical successes and failures — from the Cold War to Venezuela — demonstrate that sanctions, when precisely targeted and applied with strategic discipline, can weaken authoritarian regimes while limiting harm to civilian populations. Properly conceived and enforced, they remain an indispensable pillar of U.S. foreign policy.
Check out more from H.R. McMaster:
Learn more about H.R. McMaster here.
__________
The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Hoover Institution or Stanford University.
© 2025 by the Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University.
Videos
Mickey Levy on his early career working with Alice Rivlin at the Congressional Budget Office and with Arthur Burns at AEI, as well as being part of the Shadow Open Markets Committee from its early days in the 1970s.
October 16, 2026
Videos
From politics and economics to journalism and culture, leading voices reflect on how Thomas Sowell’s ideas shaped their thinking and continue to inspire new generations.
October 15, 2026
series_item_video
