Foreign Affairs: End of age of US sanctions

A recent article by The Foreign Affairs magazine believes that sanction, US' favored diplomatic weapon, will soon end its golden days .

Innovations, like currency-swap agreements, alternative payment systems, and digital currencies, if put together, are increasingly giving countries the ability to conduct transactions through sanctions-proof channels.

The article concluded that within a decade, US unilateral sanctions may have little bite. Multilateral measures, supported by Japan, the United States, the countries of the European Union, and other like-minded powers, will probably become the best alternative. These sanctions are more difficult to draft, but are far harder for targeted countries to circumvent.

"In a best-case scenario, the development of multilateral sanctions will foster the establishment of a global framework to improve the effectiveness of sanctions. Similar institutions already deal with issues that require global collaboration, such as maritime law, the war on drugs, and the resettlement of refugees", the article said.