Sanctions against Zimbabwe

THE ARGUMENTS FOR

Whilst sanctions may impose further poverty on the Zimbabwean people, they are one of the only effective measures left available to put pressure on the regime. Mugabe needs to be made to feel uncomfortable; stripping away his knighthood and banning the country's cricket team from playing in the UK are not enough.

Any trade carried out with Zimbabwe increases profits for Zanu-PF. The government's currency control system means that almost a quarter of the money officially traded in the country goes directly into Mugabe's central bank. Far from providing Zimbabwe's poverty-stricken citizens with jobs and income, companies are simply putting cash into the dictator's pocket.
 
Specifically, it is the flow of foreign currency into the country that allows the regime to survive. Mugabe's troops do not want to be paid in worthless Zimbabwean dollars, and the continuous flow of US dollars ensures he has more than enough money for bribes and payouts.  
 
Although sanctions have seldom worked in the past, Zimbabwe might be the exception. Zimbabwean currency is useless, and without foreign trade, Mugabe could be forced to the negotiating table.
 
THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST

Economic sanctions will close factories, mines and farms, immediately pushing Zimbabwe's suffering working class into even deeper poverty. Over time, they will also weaken the professional and managerial classes, undermining those most likely to put pressure on Mugabe.
 
Sanctions will force opposition supporters to rely on government handouts. This will completely dissolve their political effectiveness.
 
Imposing sanctions on a corrupt regime creates a command economy in which dictators can retain any asset they want, and control every transaction. Sanctions have protected the wealth and power of Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro and the Burmese generals. Zimbabwe, then known as Rhodesia, was subjected to sanctions in the 1960s and 1970s. The tactics failed then and will fail now.
 
Imposing sanctions will not stop Zimbabwe from trading. By trying to isolate the country economically, Western powers may simply allow the Chinese to buy up Zimbabwean industries and resources at advantageous prices.
 
Sanctions are a method of saving face rather than a method of imposing change. Even their biggest supporters have admitted that they are a "blunt instrument that often produces unintentional and undesirable consequences". ·