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Multilateral and Unilateral Sanctions: Compliance and Challenges

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Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Synonyms

Boycott and Embargo (related terms); Countermeasures/restrictive measures (wide understanding, particularly in relation to economic and/or financial enforcement measures)

Definition

An accurate definition of the term “sanctions” is cumbersome as it must reflect its modern understanding, as evidently applied in the twenty-first century: There is a widely growing area of sanctions which are imposed unilaterally (autonomously) by states on other states, on companies and even on individuals, either with or without authorization by the international community as represented by the United Nations. As a result, sanctions can be broadly defined as reactive and coercive measures applied by virtue of a decision taken by an international organization, or a group of states or individual states following a perceived breach of an international obligation. The core purpose of sanctions is the enforcement of rules by states – while the substance of those rules might be highly contentious....

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maritime Law and Policy, World Maritime University (WMU), Malmö, Sweden

    Henning Jessen

Authors
  1. Henning Jessen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Henning Jessen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Amanda Lange Salvia

  5. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökçin Özuyar

  6. University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Graduate Program in Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Passo Fundo, São José, Passo Fundo, RS, Brazil

    Amanda Lange Salvia

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Jessen, H. (2021). Multilateral and Unilateral Sanctions: Compliance and Challenges. In: Leal Filho, W., Marisa Azul, A., Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Özuyar, P.G., Wall, T. (eds) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95960-3_51

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