In the light of the recent political developments, many were interested in the question of what sanctions are and how Russia can deal with the huge number of sanctions announced to it by various countries and international organizations.
Legal provisions
Regulation of relations between people, their groups, organizations and even states is due to social norms, to which both morals, traditions, and, of course, the law. Law is a set of rules of conduct that are mandatory for all and formally fixed in the sources, such as laws, by-laws, international treaties, conventions, and so on. Their non-fulfillment threatens the subject with the application of measures of state influence, that is, punishment or coercion. In order to answer the main question of the article, it is necessary to understand what a hypothesis, disposition, sanction is. These concepts are closely interrelated, since they represent the structure of any legal norm.
Structure of legal norms
As a general rule, any legal rule consists of three parts, although there may be exceptions. The first element is called the hypothesis and is a description of the conditions under which this or that rule will operate. The second is disposition. This is directly the central part of the norm, which proclaims one or another model of behavior. And, finally, what is sanction? This is the part that fixes the consequences of the implementation or non-execution of the disposition. In this case, sanctions can be both positive, so to speak, encouraging for the right actions, and negative. The latter predetermine the extent of the impact on the subject of law in the event of failure to comply with the requirements for his behavior and actions under these conditions. Thus, within the framework of consideration of the structure of law, it is quite clear what norms and sanctions are. It's another matter when it comes to international relations.
International sanctions: a bit of history
For all who are interested in the question of what sanctions are, it is necessary to clarify that although in the sphere of international relations this term appeared quite recently (in the charter of the League of Nations after the First World War), the very phenomenon designated by it is as old as the world. Even in ancient Greece, the application of economic measures of pressure on the state, which manifested itself aggressively or with which there were contradictions, was practiced. These measures of influence were to force the opponent to change his foreign policy without bloodshed. They were called reprisals.
Over time, in the history of European politics, they were applied to both the state and individuals, its subjects. An interesting fact is that in the nineteenth century Napoleon Bonaparte was able to apply the economic impact measures to weaken the enemy in full scale. It's about the famous continental blockade. Everyone who learns history at school knows what Napoleon's sanction is. It included a ban on trade with England and was supported by all European countries that the French emperor conquered or intimidated from 1806 to 1812. It was her failure by Russia and clandestine trade with Britain to become the main reasons for Napoleon's attack on Russia. In an attempt to save the world from new wars, the League of Nations, as punishment, excluded the aggressor's country from membership, which did not prevent, for example, Germany, Italy, from continuing its predatory policy.
Sanctions of the United Nations
One of the results of the Second World War was the establishment of the United Nations. This international organization in its charter provides for the imposition of sanctions on aggressor countries. Under this document, the Security Council may decide to apply non-military measures to countries that threaten the preservation of peace. It must be said that economic activities are primarily understood as economic measures. So, everyone is aware of the application of sanctions against Iraq and Yugoslavia, the facts of economic impact on South Africa and Rhodesia are less well known. In order to enforce coercive measures, to which the total or partial embargo may apply, the freezing of assets, the ban on the sale of certain goods, the ban on travel - a decision of the Security Council is necessary. Russia is part of it and has the right of veto, which prevents the UN from applying sanctions against it.
EU and US sanctions
Over the past decade, the United States has acted, not particularly looking back at the UN, taking responsibility for establishing democracy and bringing order to the world. The folding unipolar world is in their interests. Therefore, in connection with the position of Russia in relation to the Ukrainian crisis and the accession of the Crimea, the United States, the EU, Canada, Australia and other countries initiated the application of economic coercion measures to Russia. What are EU sanctions? This is a set of measures aimed at forcing Russia to change the point of view on the issue of Ukraine and return it to the Crimea. In the spring of 2014, the accounts of Russian companies abroad were frozen first, and then a list of non-entry persons to these countries was published. The calculation is aimed at creating problems for the higher Russian economic elite in order to bring pressure to bear on the Russian government. Alas, very soon the Crimea ceased to be the main problem of the Ukrainian question.
Today's situation
In connection with the events in the east of Ukraine, in which Russia is also accused, more and more demands are being made and more and more sanctions are being put forward. Such economic measures of influence from even one state can cause serious consequences. Here we are dealing with dozens of countries. What are group sanctions for Russia? These are actions that can kill the economy of any state. Still, Russian politicians believe that they will be able to solve the problems that have arisen due to the reorientation of economic activity towards the countries of the East and Latin America. In addition, Russia itself has introduced a number of bans on the importation of meat and agricultural products from the EU countries, the United States, Canada and so on. Will the state survive at the expense of its own resources? If so, this will be a huge blow for political opponents. After all, anything that does not kill makes us stronger ...