Sanctions Solutions: How to Implement More Effective Sanctions

• Economic sanctions are a key tool in the UK’s foreign policy arsenal, used to ‘Deter, Disrupt and Demonstrate’ resolve against states that violate international norms and Britain’s foreign policy interests.

• For such economic sanctions to be effective, evasion must be prevented, requiring a detailed knowledge of the target economy and how interlinked it is with Britain’s coalition.

• To this end, cross-departmental coordination must improve, ensuring that the whole machinery of government is equipped to quickly collaborate to tackle evasion.

• The government should publish a revised sanctions strategy explicitly linked to related policies like the Fusion Doctrine and the ‘Integrated Review’ and ‘Refresh’.

• Alongside working to integrate economic sanctions into a broader strategy, it should also establish a subcommittee of the National Security Council dedicated to sanctions and economic statecraft.

• Additionally, the government should create a joint unit for sanctions and counter-threat finance, using intelligence to improve enforcement.

• Through a coordinated sanctions regime, the UK can enhance its ability to counter hostile threats, strengthen its national security, and uphold liberal democracy around the world.