[jacquesm]

Sanctions will always be a two-sided sword. But that doesn't mean you should not enact them, even if they hurt.

It's just about the only action short of war that might cause a party to think twice, though, in practice it tends to harm the populations much more than it ever does the leaders (who in fact may find a boost from them).

It's a blunt and imprecise tool but it's what's in the tool drawer and there isn't much else in there other than war.