Over the past three decades, we have seen an explosion in the United States’ use of broad-based economic sanctions. Policymakers on both sides of the aisle view sanctions as an attractive, low-cost foreign policy tool. Sanctions are often seen as an alternative to war and justified on human rights grounds. The economic pain inflicted on the target country is supposed to compel it to cease its human rights abuses. But are broad-based economic sanctions themselves an instrument that violates human rights by increasing the suffering of civilian populations? Growing evidence shows that these kinds of sanctions have disastrous impacts — causing starvation and shortages in critical medicines, electricity, and even clean water. Is it time to rethink our usage of broad-based economic sanctions?
Join us for a discussion on human rights and broad-based economic sanctions. The panel will include QI Non-Resident Fellows Asli Bali (UCLA) and Josh Landis (University of Oklahoma), and CUNY's Peter Beinart.Trita Parsi, Quincy Institute’s Executive Vice President, will moderate the conversation.
Ending the Forever War: President Biden's Decision to Withdraw U.S. Troops From Afghanistan
The Biden administration’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11 or sooner marks a historic pivot away from endless war. President Joe Biden recognized that there is no viable path for U.S. troops to militarily defeat the Taliban and rejected calls for a “robust U.S. military presence to stand as leverage” in uncertain negotiations. What led Biden to make these determinations and will he be able to keep his word given the challenges ahead?
Join a discussion that delves into the calculations behind President Biden’s monumental decision and the future of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan and the region with Ambassador Richard Olson who served as U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, and director for Development and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul; Vanda Felbab-Brown, director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors at Brookings; and Jonathan Schroden, director of the Countering Threats and Challenges Program at the Center for Naval Analyses. The conversation will be moderated by QI’s Adam Weinstein.
