Article Subject domain: Diplomacy and International Affairs INTERGOVERNMENTAL RESEARCH AND POLICY JOURNAL (IRPJ) A peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal under the authority of EUCLID / UN Treaty 49006/49007 Journal Efficiency Factor©: 18 of 21 (y. 2020) ISSN: 2663-6832 https://irpj.euclid.int Copyright remains with the author(s) and IRPJ Bhalla D. et al. / Intergovernmental Research and Policy Journal Vol. 2020, Issue e20, DOI:10.36964/irpj2355 In-article page number: 1 INEFFECTIVENESS OF SANCTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF SOMALIA Author: Sarah Mwikali Musau 1. PhD student, diplomacy and international affairs, Euclid university. Researcher, international development and affairs specialist; Associate Fellow, Royal Commonwealth Society; Executive Member, Commonwealth Children, and Youth Disability Network; Youth Advisory Council Member, Global Business Coalition for Education; and 2019 UNFPA strategic partnerships fellow, New York, US. Name and address of the corresponding author: Keywords: Sanctions, Somalia, multilateral sanctions, economic sanctions, and arms embargoes IGOs: United Nations (UN) Submitted: 30/04/2021 Approved: 10/05/2020 Access PDF: Map of Somalia ABSTRACT Sanctions is a widely used concept in many states’ foreign policy yet lacks clarity of meaning under international law. Different sanctions have been imposed against Somalia since the 1990s. The first multilateral sanction was imposed by the UN on January 23, 1992. Most countries prefer multilateral sanctions despite their ineffectiveness due to a lack of political consensus and members’ cooperation. This paper sought to find out whether sanctions are effective, those affected by sanctions, and whose determine sanctions application. Sanctions are imposed unilaterally or multilaterally and can either be positive or negative. Somalia has received vast multilateral sanctions imposed since 1992, which have primarily affected the civilians— mass displacements of civilians, harmful conflicts, terrorist attacks, starvation and drought, and clan wars. Rather than helping the state rebuild itself and reform its structures, the consequences of sanctions have been borne by the population. Somalia has remained a stateless state since 1991 despite some ‘error and try’ elections in the country. The paper concludes that economic sanctions are ineffective as they trade lives and thus, supports Johan Galtung’s position that the collective nature of economic sanctions makes them hit the innocent along with the guilty. INTRODUCTION For centuries, sanctions have been a significant facet in almost all states’ foreign policy. Most states rely on sanctions for different reasons, including domestic political needs, economic pressures, foreign policy, and national security objectives. 1 Sanctions range from economic to political to military. Some states use them to compel compliance with Treaty obligations. Mostly used type of sanctions is economic sanctions. It was used by “early modern Europe as a subordinate instrument of the military policy during times of war. For instance, Athens imposed economic sanctions import embargo against the Greek city-states for their refusal to