Are Sanctions Effective? A Case Study of United States Sanctions Imposed on the Russian Federation

My thesis examines the United States sanctions imposed on Russia. The 2014 annexation of Crimea and Russia meddling in the 2016 United States Presidential election resulted in the United States imposing economic and political sanctions on Russia— more than any other country in the world. Looking at past sanctions cases that the United States has imposed on Russia is another key part to understanding the current situation. The sanctions are targeted mostly on Russian oligarchs and top Russian government officials. Scholars and critics question if the sanctions are changing President Vladimir Putin’s behavior or if they are not having enough change in behavior. Russia does not have a comparable economy to the United States to impose similar economic sanctions on the United States. Military intervention in Syria and Ukraine is where Russia shows its strength against the United States. The sanctions provide a way for the United States to punish Russia, but the intended results are unpredictable based on past examples.