Pariah States and Sanctions in the Middle East: Iraq, Libya, Sudan
A well-organized, brief account of the U.N. Security Council sanctions initiated in the 1990s against Iraq, Libya, and Sudan. By treating the three cases separately, Niblock brings out interesting differences. Sanctions against Libya, for example, did not block its sale of oil. Sanctions against Sudan did not threaten its economy; those in Iraq did. Niblock's disapproval of the U.S.-driven sanctions policies comes through strongly, and he is especially good at favorably presenting the policies and underlying assumptions of the targeted states that sought to get the sanctions lifted. Readers may feel that he makes the rulers of these states look better than they deserve, but that in no way undercuts his basic argument that sanctions have not achieved their goals. His reform proposals include linking sanctions relief to human-rights advances, using diplomatic rather than economic pressure, and forging a policy geared toward rehabilitation rather than reparations.
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