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zarean, A., Mehraban halan, M., zarei, R. (2025). The Role of Economic Sanctions in U.S. Foreign Policy: From Behavior Change to Regime Change. Electronic and Cyber Defense, 5(1), 59-87. doi: 10.27834743/ASS.2409.1247.17.2
ahmad zarean; Mohammad Mehraban halan; reza zarei. "The Role of Economic Sanctions in U.S. Foreign Policy: From Behavior Change to Regime Change". Electronic and Cyber Defense, 5, 1, 2025, 59-87. doi: 10.27834743/ASS.2409.1247.17.2
zarean, A., Mehraban halan, M., zarei, R. (2025). 'The Role of Economic Sanctions in U.S. Foreign Policy: From Behavior Change to Regime Change', Electronic and Cyber Defense, 5(1), pp. 59-87. doi: 10.27834743/ASS.2409.1247.17.2
zarean, A., Mehraban halan, M., zarei, R. The Role of Economic Sanctions in U.S. Foreign Policy: From Behavior Change to Regime Change. Electronic and Cyber Defense, 2025; 5(1): 59-87. doi: 10.27834743/ASS.2409.1247.17.2

The Role of Economic Sanctions in U.S. Foreign Policy: From Behavior Change to Regime Change

مطالعات راهبردی آمریکا
Article 2, Volume 5, Issue 1 - Serial Number 17, June 2025, Pages 59-87    PDF (1.28 M)
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.27834743/ASS.2409.1247.17.2
Authors
ahmad zarean1; Mohammad Mehraban halan2; reza zarei* 3
1Assistant Professor, Faculty of International Studies, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran.
2Teacher and researcher at the International Studies Faculty, Imam Hossein University.
3Master's student in Regional Studies, North America orientation, Imam Hussein University, Tehran, Iran.
Receive Date: 01 October 2024,  Revise Date: 16 March 2025,  Accept Date: 08 April 2025 
Abstract
Today, the United States of America employs various tools to maintain its hegemony and survival. Over the past decades, economic sanctions have become one of the most frequently used instruments of U.S. foreign policy. Unlike the militaristic nature that dominated U.S. foreign policy during the bipolar world order, in the post-Cold War era, economic sanctions have rapidly evolved into a tool on par with military power in American foreign strategy. The perception of U.S. policymakers toward economic sanctions has shifted compared to previous eras, turning sanctions into a fixed and strategic principle in the country's foreign policy. Moreover, influenced by events in the field of international political economy and the accelerating and intensifying globalization of the economy, the position and popularity of sanctions among U.S. policymakers have increased. As a result, within the foreign policy decision-making process of the United States, there is now a strategic presumption that economic coercion can be used to control the world. Based on a descriptive-analytical approach and using document-based research methods, this article seeks to answer the question: What is the role of economic sanctions in U.S. foreign policy? The findings indicate that the United States resorts to sanctions when other efforts to achieve its goals have failed. Over time, the role of sanctions in U.S. foreign policy has shifted from deterrence and behavior modification to a weapon for overthrowing and changing opposing governments.
Keywords
United States of America; foreign policy; economic sanctions; regime change; behavior change
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