International Law Won’t Change Myanmar
The increasingly globalized international system means states are more interdependent for trade and economic development than ever before. Leveraging relative economic advantages at state and regional levels has reduced prices for many important products and services and increased development even in the poorest countries in the world. Along with the net positive benefits of globalization, economic interdependence has also opened new options for inter-state competition and coercion by restricting the same international trade and financial flow that have contributed to development.
Although increased interdependence may mean increased fragility due to the actions of aggressive or authoritarian states, there are also positive applications for economic coercion. Liberal states interested in promoting human rights and rule of law have more options for punishing and compelling authoritarian and rogue regimes through economic sanctions. The use of economic tactics and strategies rather than kinetic military power proves increasingly attractive in the wake of the many post-colonial conflicts during and after the Cold War and the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Economic sanctions have proven effective at modifying the behavior of targeted regimes is several cases, most notably ending the apartheid regime in South Africa (Cleveland, 2001). Although military power is not obsolete…
