Foreign Affairs
English
Submit an article
Back to Issue: No.5, 2025

The political nature of the EU’s sanctions policy in the field of international security

Tatyana Meleshchenko , Valery Tsybukh

Abstract

The relevance of studying the European Union’s sanctions policy is due to its function as a tool for countering threats to international security. The aim of the study was to clarify the political nature of the European Union’s sanctions policy during the period 2014-2025 in the context of its transformation into a strategic foreign policy instrument. The methodological basis included systemic, functional, comparative, institutional, legal, and case methods, which allowed for the investigation of the multi-level nature of sanctions. The application of a systemic approach revealed the holistic architecture of sanctions policy with its legal, institutional, and political dimensions. Three main functions of sanctions were identified: political messaging, deterrence, and behavioural change. Case analysis showed different rationales for applying sanctions against Russia, Iran, Belarus, Syria, China, and North Korea. The sanctions against Russia after 2014 demonstrated a shift towards a long-term strategy of political isolation. The analysis of the legal framework and institutional architecture revealed a close relationship between the legitimacy of decisions and the effectiveness of implementation. The European Union has demonstrated its capacity for normative innovativeness, particularly through the launch of the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. At the same time, key limitations were identified, related to international coordination, economic interdependence, and implementation difficulties. The European Union’s sanctions policy has evolved from a tool of economic influence into a political means of strategic deterrence. Despite institutional shifts, sanctions remain only one part of the European Union’s complex set of foreign policy tools, the effectiveness of which depends on external and internal factors. The results obtained can be used to improve decision-making mechanisms in the area of sanctions policy and to optimise international coordination

Keywords

mechanism of influence; political message; deterrence; behavioural change; isolation

References

  1. Anyalebechi, S.M (2025). Recalibrating the role of sanctions in the contemporary international politics: The case of Russo-Ukrainian conflict, 2014-2024. Port Harcourt Journal of Society and Environment, 3(1), 1-12.
  2. Aslund, A., & Hagemejer, J. (2021). EU sanctions on Belarus as an effective policy tool. Warsaw: Center for Social and Economic Research. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3991710.
  3. Ballbach, E.J. (2022). Moving beyond targeted sanctions: The sanctions regime of the European Union against North Korea. Berlin: German Institute for International and Security Affairs. doi: 10.18449/2022RP04.
  4. Barber, R. (2021). An exploration of the General Assembly’s troubled relationship with unilateral sanctions. International & Comparative Law Quarterly, 70(2), 343-378. doi: 10.1017/S0020589321000026.
  5. Batmanghelidj, E., & Rouhi, M. (2023). The Iran nuclear deal and sanctions relief: Implications for US policy. In Survival August-September 2021: Debating US foreign policy (1st ed., pp. 183-198). Abingdon: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003422143.
  6. Beaucillon, C. (2021). The European Unions position and practice with regard to unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions. In Research handbook on unilateral and extraterritorial sanctions (pp. 110-129). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781839107856.00014.
  7. Beckman, R., Nguyen, T., & Ong, J. (2025). Possible actions by coastal states to protect their marine environment from oil tankers in the dark fleet. The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 40(1), 3-30. doi: 10.1163/15718085-bja10219.
  8. Bělín, M., & Hanousek, J. (2021). Which sanctions matter? Analysis of the EU/Russian sanctions of 2014. Journal of Comparative Economics, 49(1), 244-257. doi: 10.1016/j.jce.2020.07.001.
  9. Bousso, R. (2025). West hits “peak sanctions” on Russia’s energy sector. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/west-hits-peak-sanctions-russias-energy-sector-2025-09-02.
  10. Cardwell, P.J., & Moret, E. (2022). The EU, sanctions and regional leadership. European Security, 32(1), 1-21. doi: 10.1080/09662839.2022.2085997.
  11. Doutaghi, H. (2024). Wealth drain and value transfer: A study of the mechanisms, harms, and beneficiaries of the sanctions regime on Iran. (Doctoral dissertation, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada). doi: 10.22215/etd/2024-16173.
  12. Early, B.R. (2021). Making sanctions work: Promoting compliance, punishing violations, and discouraging sanctions busting. In P.A.G. van Bergeijk (Ed.), Research handbook on economic sanctions (pp. 167-186). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781839102721.00015.
  13. EEAS. (2015). Joint comprehensive plan of action. Retrieved from https://eeas.europa.eu/archives/docs/statements-eeas/docs/iran_agreement/iran_joint-comprehensive-plan-of-action_en.pdf.
  14. Emtseva, J. (2021). Sanctioning the treatment of Uighurs in China: Targeted sanctions and accountability avenues for human rights violations in Xinjiang. doi: 10.17176/20210425-221210-0.
  15. European Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://commission.europa.eu/index_en.
  16. European Council. (2024). EU global human rights sanctions regime: Listings renewed for an additional year. Retrieved from https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/12/02/eu-global-human-rights-sanctions-regime-listings-renewed-for-an-additional-year/.
  17. European Council. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/european-council/.
  18. European External Action Service. (n.d.). The diplomatic service of the European Union. Retrieved from https://www.eeas.europa.eu/_en.
  19. European Parliament. (1987). Single European act. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/single-european-act.
  20. European Parliament. (n.d.). Treaty of Lisbon. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/treaty-of-lisbon.
  21. European Union. (2012). Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:2bf140bf-a3f8-4ab2-b506-fd71826e6da6.0023.02/DOC_1&format=PDF.
  22. European Union. (n.d.). Common foreign and security policy (CFSP). retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/common-foreign-and-security-policy-cfsp.html.
  23. Ghobadi, Y., Ghasemi, H., & Eivazi, A.R. (2019). Iran sanctions by European countries the comparative analysis of the performance of the European Union and the US with Islamic republic of Iran’s nuclear energy after the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Danubius University Journal. International Relations, 12(2), 5-15.
  24. Giumelli, F., Hoffmann, F., & Książczaková, A. (2020). The when, what, where and why of European Union sanctions. European Security, 30(1), 1-23. doi: 10.1080/09662839.2020.1797685.
  25. Gordon, N.M. (2023). European Coal and Steel Community is established. Retrieved from https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/european-coal-and-steel-community-established.
  26. Halcoussis, D., Kaempfer, W.H., & Lowenberg, A.D. (2021). The public choice approach to international sanctions: Retrospect and prospect. In P.A.G. van Bergeijk (Ed.), Research handbook on economic sanctions (pp. 152-166). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: 10.4337/9781839102721.00014.
  27. Jessen, H. (2021). Multilateral and unilateral sanctions: Compliance and challenges. In W. Leal Filho, A. Marisa Azul, L. Brandli, A. Lange Salvia, P.G. Özuyar & T. Wall (Eds.), Peace, justice and strong institutions (pp. 570-580). Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-95960-3_51.
  28. Laudati, D., & Pesaran, M.H. (2022). Identifying the effects of sanctions on the Iranian economy using newspaper coverage. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 38(3), 271-294. doi: 10.1002/jae.2947.
  29. Moiseeva, D. (2023). Sanctions as an element of geopolitical blow against Russian capability in war with Ukraine. (Master’s thesis, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic).
  30. Nordenberg, E. (2025). The European Union’s sanctions regime against Russia: A case study of the EU’s sanctions following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (Master’s thesis, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden).
  31. Nwador, A.F., Sanubi, F.A., & Clark, E.V. (2023). Sanctions as tool for strategic deterrence: An assessment of targeted sanctions in Russia. PERSPEKTIF, 12(3), 825-843. doi: 10.31289/perspektif.v12i3.9301.
  32. Okello, K. (2023). Economic sanctions and regime change. Global Journal of International Relations, 1(1), 13-23.
  33. Olsen, K.B. (2022). Diplomatic realisation of the EU’s “geoeconomic pivot”: Sanctions, trade, and development policy reform. Politics and Governance, 10(1), 5-15. doi: 10.17645/pag.v10i1.4739.
  34. Plakhov, D. (2021). NATO sanctions policy. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353464138_NATO_Sanctions_Policy.
  35. Political and Security Committee (PSC). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/preparatory-bodies/political-security-committee/.
  36. Portela, C. (2012). EU’s sanctions against Syria: Conflict management by other means. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep06585.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default%3A9e8711dafe31e6938bf38504272715d6&ab_segments=&origin=&initiator=&acceptTC=1.
  37. Portela, C. (2021). The EU human rights sanctions regime: Unfinished business. General Journal of European Law, 54(2), 19-44.
  38. Prezas, I. (2022). Democratic sanctions and international law. In D.E. Khan, E. Lagrange, S. Oeter & C. Walter (Eds.), Democracy and sovereignty (pp. 235-268). Leiden: Brill Nijhoff. doi: 10.1163/9789004508712_011.
  39. Stangarone, T. (2021). Removing sanctions on North Korea: Challenges and potential pathways. Retrieved from https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2021-12/sr-504-removing-sanctions-on-north-korea.pdf.
  40. Steininger, S. (2021). With or without you: Suspension, expulsion, and the limits of membership sanctions in regional human rights regimes. Journal of Foreign Public Law and International Law, 81(2), 533-566. doi: 10.17104/0044-2348-2021-2-533.
  41. Tsatsos, A. (2024). The effectiveness of economic sanctions in diplomacy. (Master’s thesis, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece).
  42. Van Bergeijk, P.A.G. (2022). Sanctions against the Russian war on Ukraine: Lessons from history and current prospects. Journal of World Trade, 56(4), 571-586. doi: 10.54648/trad2022023.
  43. Veebel, V. (2021). Russia and western concepts of deterrence, normative power, and sanctions. Comparative Strategy, 40(3), 268-284. doi: 10.1080/01495933.2021.1912509.
  44. Walterskirchen, J., Mangott, G., & Wend, C. (2022). Sanction dynamics in the cases of North Korea, Iran, and Russia. Cham: Springer Nature. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-17397-4.
  45. Whartnaby, L. (2023). Turbulent skies: Legal strategies on responding to the diversion of Ryanair flight 4978. Boston University International Law Journal, 41, 183-212.

Suggested citation

Meleshchenko, T., & Tsybukh, V. (2025). The political nature of the EU’s sanctions policy in the field of international security. Foreign Affairs, 35(5), 85-95. https://doi.org/10.59214/ua.fa/5.2025.85
English
Submit an article