The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail

Contemporary international law has developed a cautious attitude toward the use of coercive diplomacy, specifically in the deployment of economic sanctions in the form of boycotting or blockading one sovereign state by another. If used unilaterally or collectively, particularly in the absence of a U...

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Main Author: Yaser Khalaileh
Format: Article
Language:Arabic
Published: Qatar University Press 2019-12-01
Series:International Review of Law
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.qu.edu.qa/index.php/IRL/article/view/1424
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author Yaser Khalaileh
author_facet Yaser Khalaileh
author_sort Yaser Khalaileh
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description Contemporary international law has developed a cautious attitude toward the use of coercive diplomacy, specifically in the deployment of economic sanctions in the form of boycotting or blockading one sovereign state by another. If used unilaterally or collectively, particularly in the absence of a UN mandate, such coercive measures have often failed to change the policies of target states. In particular, economic sanctions have proven ineffectual in achieving the desired results and have instead caused unintended consequences on the complex global economic stage. Economic sanctions have had severe negative impacts on international trade and they often infringe on the basic pillars of human rights, politics, and morals. Indeed, resorting to such sanctions has achieved little success in rectifying disputed matters between opponent states. As such, the debate surrounding the possibility of producing a specific legal framework on the use of economic sanctions continues. To this end, and in light of what the state of Qatar has recently suffered from its neighboring states, this paper argues that the economic sanctions imposed on Qatar are a clear case of an extraterritorial application of sanctions that has generated immense political controversy and international resentment. Furthermore, this dubious application of sanctions and the resulting blockade of Qatar (it is undoubtedly a “blockade”, given the geography of the region and the intensity of actions taken) represent a breach of international legal norms embedded in both customary and treaty law.
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spelling doaj.art-50ddd57f2e5246a490d26d0dbdf083492022-12-22T04:07:05ZaraQatar University PressInternational Review of Law2710-25052223-859X2019-12-0120184The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should PrevailYaser KhalailehContemporary international law has developed a cautious attitude toward the use of coercive diplomacy, specifically in the deployment of economic sanctions in the form of boycotting or blockading one sovereign state by another. If used unilaterally or collectively, particularly in the absence of a UN mandate, such coercive measures have often failed to change the policies of target states. In particular, economic sanctions have proven ineffectual in achieving the desired results and have instead caused unintended consequences on the complex global economic stage. Economic sanctions have had severe negative impacts on international trade and they often infringe on the basic pillars of human rights, politics, and morals. Indeed, resorting to such sanctions has achieved little success in rectifying disputed matters between opponent states. As such, the debate surrounding the possibility of producing a specific legal framework on the use of economic sanctions continues. To this end, and in light of what the state of Qatar has recently suffered from its neighboring states, this paper argues that the economic sanctions imposed on Qatar are a clear case of an extraterritorial application of sanctions that has generated immense political controversy and international resentment. Furthermore, this dubious application of sanctions and the resulting blockade of Qatar (it is undoubtedly a “blockade”, given the geography of the region and the intensity of actions taken) represent a breach of international legal norms embedded in both customary and treaty law.https://journals.qu.edu.qa/index.php/IRL/article/view/1424BlockadeSanctionsQatarDiplomacyCountermeasures
spellingShingle Yaser Khalaileh
The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail
International Review of Law
Blockade
Sanctions
Qatar
Diplomacy
Countermeasures
title The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail
title_full The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail
title_fullStr The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail
title_full_unstemmed The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail
title_short The Blockade of Qatar: Where Coercive Diplomacy Fails, Principles of Law Should Prevail
title_sort blockade of qatar where coercive diplomacy fails principles of law should prevail
topic Blockade
Sanctions
Qatar
Diplomacy
Countermeasures
url https://journals.qu.edu.qa/index.php/IRL/article/view/1424
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