Coercing, Constraining, Signalling
Economic Sanctions against Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
After the shooting down of a passenger aircraft from Malaysian Airlines over eastern Ukraine in mid-July 2014, the European Union imposed an embargo on arms and oil technology against Russia. This is supposed to force Moscow to abandon its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Even if the embargo affects Russia more than the previously decided freezing of accounts and travel restrictions for government officials, it constrains the Russian political leadership’s room for manoeuver only a little. Russia is not very vulnerable, economically and especially politically. Nonetheless, the sanctions have a significant demonstration effect.
(Osteuropa 7/2014, pp. 21–30)