The Art of Sanctions

The Art of Sanctions: A View from the Field is a 2017 book written by Richard Nephew. It discusses the role of sanctions as a foreign policy tool. Nephew’s framework rests on how targets respond to sanctions according to two central variables: pain and resolve. He argues that a sanctions regime is most effective when it inflicts as much pain as is sustainable, meaning when further escalation would produce little incremental effect. In the case of Iran, the author believes that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was not a product solely of economic coercion, but rather of negotiation made possible by a successful sanctions strategy.

Richard Nephew is an adjunct professor and senior research scholar and program director at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy since 1 February 2015. He also was serving as the lead sanctions expert for the U.S. team negotiating with Iran between August 2013 to December 2014. The book has been used as a guideline among the high level U.S. politicians since it was published. The book was translated to Persian in Iran in mid 2018.