Sanctions in a Multipolar World: The Role of Neutral Third Parties

The paper constructs a three-party theoretical model of trade sanctions involving the sanctioning party, the target party, and a neutral third party, deriving three core conclusions: alliance members typically set different tariffs under Stackelberg timing or imperfect transfer payments; as sanctions tighten, the sanctioning party's welfare may exceed the optimal level under unilateral terms of trade; and when the sanctioning party and the target party compete for the support of a neutral third party, the feasible range of sanctions targets can be clearly defined. The model is applied to a calibrated analysis of sanctions on Russian crude oil, showing that if China and India take unilateral action or the sanctioning alliance offers better terms, the effectiveness of sanctions can increase by approximately 70%.