Mirza Amir Bin Mohamed Mustafa

Economic sanctions have emerged as critical instruments of modern foreign policy, shaping global trade, diplomacy, and power dynamics. Rooted in ancient practice yet evolving in sophistication, sanctions today operate at the intersection of international law, geopolitics, and economic governance. This article addresses a critical gap in existing literature, which often isolates legal, economic, or political dimensions of sanctions, by offering a holistic, interdisciplinary analysis. The main objective is to evaluate how sanctions influence international relations, legal legitimacy, and trade architecture—particularly under unilateral, multilateral, and extraterritorial frameworks. Employing a doctrinal legal research method complemented by case studies of Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, the study critically assesses sanctions’ legal bases, economic consequences, and geopolitical shifts. Findings reveal that while multilateral sanctions enjoy greater legitimacy, unilateral and extraterritorial measures frequently undermine international norms and inflict humanitarian harm. Sanctions also stimulate realignment toward multipolarity, drive the development of alternative financial systems, and increasingly challenge the coherence of international legal institutions like the WTO. The study concludes that sanctions remain potent yet imperfect tools; their legitimacy and impact depend on adherence to legal principles, proportionality, and ethical considerations in a rapidly evolving global order.