At the Group of Seven conference over the weekend, U.S. President Barack Obama scored a victory in shoring up the G-7’s fragile consensus for continuing sanctions to punish Russia for its shenanigans in Ukraine. The agreement, which stipulates that the sanctions will continues until Moscow decides to respect Ukraine’s autonomy and the terms of a cease-fire accord are fully enacted, offers a temporary shot-in-the-arm for a policy approach that looks increasingly infirm. For though the impulse to isolate countries economically and diplomatically in order to punish errant deeds and impel better behavior — it has become a cornerstone of U.S. policy on Russia, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and elsewhere — is nothing new, it has taken on added importance in this era of hesitancy toward foreign military intervention. As the fraught G-7 deliberations over extending sanctions on Russia shows, isolation now goes against the grain of a globalized world; it’s hard to implement effectively and even harder to sustain over time. If it is to remain a useful diplomatic tool, policymakers need to adapt to its increasing limitations.
