United Nations sanctions in four conflict types

This thesis explores the employment of voluntary and mandatory UN sanctions by the Security Council in different types of conflicts and poses the question: does the Council adopt different sanctions regimes in different conflict situations? To answer this question, every Security Council resolution between 1945 and December 31, 2008, applying or endorsing sanctions (whether the sanctions authorized were voluntary or mandatory) is classified into one of four conflict categories based on the type of crisis that the sanctions adopted addressed. The four contexts are: (1) interstate conflicts; (2) intrastate conflicts; (3) international norm-breaking states; and (4) non-state sponsored terrorism.;Based on these three criteria, consistent patterns of sanctions regimes emerge within each conflict category. In the case of interstate conflicts, the Security Council applies an arms embargo first followed often by a UN mission. Peace negotiations occur after. For intrastate conflicts, the pattern is reversed; the Security Council authorizes the deployment of a UN mission first, followed by the application of a myriad of sanctions to provide "teeth" to an already negotiated peace agreement.;International norm-breaking states remain the most difficult of cases to tackle using sanctions, especially those bent on pursuing weapons of mass destruction. Arms embargoes and diplomatic sanctions are the tools of choice. Non-state sponsored terrorism represents the newest conflict category. The Council applies arms, travel and financial sanctions to deal with a specific terrorist group. However, there is no obvious sequence of missions and negotiations associated with these sanctions regimes as there is for other types of conflicts.;This thesis concludes that the Council adopts different sanctions regimes to address different types of conflicts. However, because the sanctions literature has focused on the tool rather than the conflict in which sanctions are applied, these distinct patterns of application have been overlooked until now.;Within each category, the sanctions regimes are analysed using the same three criteria to allow within and between group comparisons. The analysis includes a study of the: (1) objectives the Security Council sought to achieve through the application of sanctions; (2) targets of the sanctions (were they state, sub-state or non-state actors?); and (3) methods employed by the Security Council including the type of sanctions applied (arms embargoes, travel sanctions etc.).;Keywords. Security Council; Conflicts; United Nations; Sanctions; International Relations; States; Non-state actors; Weapons of Mass Destruction; Post-conflict development; Natural Resources...