Are Sanctions Against Russia Working? European and US Perspectives, and the Way Forward

In response to Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU and US imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia. Both the speed and the range of sectoral and targeted restrictions imposed are remarkable. While Brussels and Washington closely aligned their efforts, the past year has also exposed some limits of transatlantic coordination – for example, the EU, UK, and US put different individuals on their sanctions lists. Despite these differences, sanctions have curtailed industrial production and damaged the financial sector in Russia considerably. Yet, they have hitherto not forced Putin to withdraw from Ukraine.  

In this GIGA Talk, experts will discuss key questions relating to the sanctions against Russia: What are the opportunities and limits regarding transatlantic cooperation on implementing and enforcing the current restrictions? Can further sanctions pressure Russia to end its invasion? Which additional measures could the West impose and/or remove to support a potential negotiated settlement in the future? 

Speakers:  Dr. Bryan R. Early is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean for Research at the University at Albany, SUNY’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs Policy. He is also the founding Director of the Project on International Security, Commerce, and Economic Statecraft (PISCES). 

Dr. Julia Grauvogel is a Senior Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs and Spokesperson of the GIGA Research Team "Interventions and Security". 

Dr. Erica Moret is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Global Governance at the Graduate Institute, Geneva, where she runs the Sanctions and Sustainable Peace Hub and the Geneva International Sanctions Network and is also Policy Director at Polisync, the Swiss Centre for International Policy Engagement. She has led a number of studies on impacts and effectiveness of Russia sanctions and provided input to the 2022 Kyiv Security Compact on the role sanctions could play in an eventual security guarantee for Ukraine.

Discussant:  Caspar Kolster works at the Unit 403 "International Sanctions Regimes, Economic Sanctions and Investment Review" at the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin.  

Moderator:  Dr. Christian von Soest is a Lead Research Fellow at the GIGA Institute for African Affairs, Head of the GIGA Research Programme "Peace and Security", and an Honorary Professor at the University of Göttingen.