Bruce Jentleson: Do Sanctions Work?

Abstract

Economic sanctions are used so often they’ve been dubbed “the Swiss army knife of foreign policy.” They’ve been wielded to try to stop nuclear proliferation, punish human rights violators, end apartheid and many other objectives – most prominently of late against Russia for its war against Ukraine. In some instances they achieve their objectives, in others they don’t. Why? What are the key factors affecting sanctions success or failure? Our speaker is Bruce Jentleson, William Preston Few Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Duke, author of the recent book Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2022), and a veteran of numerous foreign policy and political positions in Washington.

Biography

Bruce W. Jentleson is William Preston Few Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Political Science at Duke University, where he previously served as Director of the Terry Sanford Institute (now Sanford School) of Public Policy. In 2015-16 he was the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the John W. Kluge Center, Library of Congress. He received the 2018 American Political Science Association (APSA) International Security Section Joseph J. Kruzel Award for Distinguished Public Service. In 2020 he received Duke University’s Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Jentleson’s most recent book is The Peacemakers: Leadership Lessons from 20th Century Statesmanship (April 2018, W.W. Norton). His current book is Economic Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2022). Recent articles include “Refocusing U.S. Grand Strategy on Pandemic and Environmental Mass Destruction,” The Washington Quarterly (Fall 2020); “Be Wary of China Threat Inflation,” ForeignPolicy.com (7/29/21), and “Biden’s Democracy Summit Was Never a Good Idea. But Here’s How to Make It Work,” Politico (12/5/21).

From 2009-11 he was Senior Advisor to the U.S. State Department Policy Planning Director. Other policy positions include senior foreign policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore in his 2000 presidential campaign, in the Clinton administration State Department (1993-94), as a foreign policy aide to Senators Gore (1987-88) and Dave Durenberger (1978-79).

In 2022 he is a Distinguished Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He also is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs. In 2020 he was the Desmond Ball Visiting Chair at Australia National University, College of Asia and the Pacific. Other research appointments include the Brookings Institution, U.S. Institute of Peace, Oxford University, International Institute for Strategic Studies (London), and as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar in Spain. He has served as a consultant to the Carnegie Commission for Preventing Deadly Conflict, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Assembly, the Atlantic Council, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. He has lectured internationally including in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, the Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. He is often quoted in the press and has appeared on such shows as the PBS News Hour, BBC, Al Jazeera, al Hurra, China Radio International, and NPR.

In 2009 he was Program Co-Chair for the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. He  was the longtime Co-Director and now Senior Advisor for the Bridging the Gap project promoting greater policy relevance among academics. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Political Science Quarterly, Washington Quarterly, Global R2P, and CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online). He holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University, and was recipient of the American Political Science Association’s Harold D. Lasswell Award for his doctoral dissertation.

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Guests may register in advance for $15 or register at the door for $20. Please arrive at 9:30 am to check in. Advance registration opens one month before each event and closes the Wednesday before each event. There is no cost for WACHH members to attend.