Are Economic Sanctions Effective? Not in North Korea

Sanctions are a tool used by governments and coalitions such as the United Nations to “incentivize change in a target[ country]’s behavior” by making it more costly or difficult for them to engage in that behavior.[1] The United States is particularly effective at levying sanctions since the U.S. dollar is currently the global reserve currency … Read more

Are Current U.N. Sanctions Insufficient to Deter North Korea’s Nuclear Proliferation?

2013 Nuclear Test While the exact details remain unknown, on February 13, 2013, North Korea conducted its first nuclear test since 2010.  Early morning reports of February 13 included a large seismic event located near a prior North Korean underground nuclear test site.  Following this report, the Korean Central News Agency released a government statement … Read more