As soft political tools, economic sanctions aim at isolating a sanctioned state and hurt its economy to force it to change course, policies, and actions. In response to sanctions and to evade their grip, a sanctioned state adopts a range of survivalist, aggressive, and unsustainable policies that reduce the economic pressure of sanctions at the expense of accelerated environmental degradation. While economic sanctions cannot be blamed as the cause of environmental problems in sanctioned states, their role in catalyzing environmental degradation is noteworthy. This paper takes the first step in setting the theoretical ground for exploring the environmental implications of sanctions by developing a generic causal model that explains how economic sanctions can impact the environment. It is shown that sanctions lower the priority of the environmental sector in the public policy agenda in a sanctioned state and increase the natural resource‐intensity of its economy. It is argued that although the environmental damages of sanctions are mainly unintended by the sanctioning and sanctioned states, such damages are unavoidable in practice. The study calls for attention to the transgenerational and transboundary environmental impacts of economic sanctions and their justice and human rights implications for which the sanctioning and sanctioned states must be held accountable.

中文翻译：

---

国际经济制裁如何危害环境

作为软政治手段，经济制裁旨在孤立受制裁国家并损害其经济，迫使其改变路线，政策和行动。为响应制裁并逃避制裁，受制裁国家采取了一系列生存主义，侵略性和不可持续的政策，这些政策减轻制裁的经济压力，却以加速环境恶化为代价。尽管不能将经济制裁归咎于制裁国家的环境问题，但值得注意的是，经济制裁在促进环境恶化方面的作用。本文通过建立通用因果模型来解释经济制裁如何影响环境，从而为探索制裁对环境的影响奠定理论基础的第一步。结果表明，制裁在受制裁国家降低了环境部门在公共政策议程中的优先地位，并增加了其经济的自然资源密集度。有人认为，尽管制裁所造成的环境损害主要不是制裁国家和制裁国家所预期的，但实际上这种损害是不可避免的。该研究报告呼吁注意经济制裁对跨代和跨界环境的影响及其对司法和人权的影响，制裁和制裁国家必须对此负责。这种损害在实践中是不可避免的。该研究报告呼吁注意经济制裁对跨代和跨界环境的影响及其对司法和人权的影响，制裁和制裁国家必须对此负责。这种损害在实践中是不可避免的。该研究报告呼吁注意经济制裁对跨代和跨界环境的影响及其对司法和人权的影响，制裁和制裁国家必须对此负责。