Sanctions, sanctions-busting, and secondary sanctions: A game-theoretic analysis

Authors

  • Oana Secrieru Royal Military College of Canada
  • Ugurhan Berkok

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.20.1.42

Keywords:

Economic sanctions, sanctions-busting

Abstract

One of the reasons why economic sanctions fail to achieve their objective is sanctions-busting—where the target country engages in transactions with third parties to counter the effect of sanctions. Sanctions-busting has not been captured by existing theoretical models of sanctions. Developed here is a game-theoretic model of the sanctions-busting game between the third party and the target by accounting for the costs and benefits for all three players in the triad. A full range of equilibria consistent with actual sanctions episodes are obtained.

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Published

2025-04-08

How to Cite

Secrieru, O., & Berkok, U. (2025). Sanctions, sanctions-busting, and secondary sanctions: A game-theoretic analysis. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 20(1), 42–54. https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.20.1.42

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