Economic sanctions are becoming one of military conflict’s biggest weapons, UB expert says

BUFFALO, N.Y. – As a response to the invasion of Ukraine, the United States and allies have imposed unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia.

The sanctions are the best of all bad options to pressure Russian president Vladimir Putin to halt his country’s military assault on Ukraine, says Elena McLean, associate professor of political science at the University at Buffalo and an expert in international political economy.

“Economic sanctions can impose significant damage on targeted economies when they are designed with that goal in mind,” says Mclean. “The most severe sanctions can rival military conflict in the scale of economic and human costs they can generate.”

Sanctions are one of the few options to neutralize Russia without direct military engagement, she says.

“The economic coercion may be the only instrument available in a fight against a country that owns nuclear weapons, so we cannot say if sanctions are better or worse than fighting with weapons,” said Mclean. “A direct military confrontation between NATO, the U.S. and Russia is off the table due to the risk of escalation to nuclear warfare.”

The sanctions are already creating major financial havoc, possibly sending the Russian economy into partial collapse, she says.

“They are not going to stop Russia; and yet, sanctions will make the conflict more costly for the country in the intermediate and long term, which may make it much more difficult for Russia to hang on to Ukraine if the Russian invasion succeeds militarily,” she said.