Bolstering Human Rights by Means of 'Smart' Sanctions?

and INTRODUCTION In view of the rather disappointing experiences with sanctions as a policy instrument in international relations, recent years have seen the launching of a 'refined' variant: so-called smart sanctions. This refinement of the sanctions tool involves two major modifications in order to overcome its bluntness. First, it means targeting better and penalising more precisely and effectively the political elites espousing policies and committing actions that the international community considers reprehensible. The specific instruments found most appropriate for targeting include arms embargoes, financial sanctions and travel restrictions. The second, applied in the case of broad sanctions