Regional international organizations (RIOs) and states are increasingly sanctioning governments, firms and individuals they consider to have violated international norms. How do different RIOs legitimize the decision to impose (or not impose) sanctions? And how do they react to the legitimation strategies of other RIOs and states? This article addresses these questions by analysing the legitimation strategies of the United States and four RIOs involved in the combined sanction regimes against Venezuela between 2014 and 2019: the Organization of American States, the Union of South American Nations, the Common Market of the South and the European Union. Refining the environment-based perspective on legitimation, the article proposes that combined sanction regimes work as environments that shape the legitimation strategies of senders not only by providing templates to emulate but also by triggering processes of differentiation. The article shows how Latin American RIOs adapted their legitimation strategies dynamically in reaction to changes in the strategies of Washington and Brussels. This process, however, was not unidirectional. When Latin American RIOs managed to articulate coherent strategies, they forced Washington and Brussels to recalibrate their own positions and engage in discursive legitimation processes as well.

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联合制裁制度中的合法化政治：委内瑞拉的案例

区域国际组织 (RIO) 和国家越来越多地制裁他们认为违反国际规范的政府、公司和个人。不同的 RIO 如何使实施（或不实施）制裁的决定合法化？他们如何应对其他 RIO 和州的合法化策略？本文通过分析 2014 年至 2019 年间美国和参与针对委内瑞拉的联合制裁制度的四个 RIO 的合法化策略来解决这些问题：美洲国家组织、南美国家联盟、南方共同市场和欧盟。完善基于环境的合法化视角，该文章提出，联合制裁制度作为塑造发送者合法化策略的环境，不仅通过提供模板来效仿，而且通过触发差异化过程。这篇文章展示了拉丁美洲的 RIO 如何动态调整其合法化策略以应对华盛顿和布鲁塞尔战略的变化。然而，这个过程并不是单向的。当拉丁美洲的 RIO 设法阐明连贯的战略时，他们迫使华盛顿和布鲁塞尔重新调整自己的立场并参与话语合法化过程。这篇文章展示了拉丁美洲的 RIO 如何动态调整其合法化策略以应对华盛顿和布鲁塞尔战略的变化。然而，这个过程并不是单向的。当拉丁美洲的 RIO 设法阐明连贯的战略时，他们迫使华盛顿和布鲁塞尔重新调整自己的立场并参与话语合法化过程。这篇文章展示了拉丁美洲的 RIO 如何动态调整其合法化策略以应对华盛顿和布鲁塞尔战略的变化。然而，这个过程并不是单向的。当拉丁美洲的 RIO 设法阐明连贯的战略时，他们迫使华盛顿和布鲁塞尔重新调整自己的立场并参与话语合法化过程。