An Analysis of Unilateral Economic Sanctions in International Law: A Case Study of the United States

Some powerful countries, especially the United States, impose unilateral sanctions on other countries, which has nowadays become commonplace in their foreign policy. However, the problem is that although these sanctions are claimed to essentially have certain reasons and justifications, they sometimes face objections and their legality is questioned, contrary to many collective sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. Hence the main question is, what is the rationale behind the U.S.'s unilateral sanctions, and what is the place of these sanctions in international law? This study is an attempt to analyze the reasons for and legality of unilateral sanctions from the perspective of international law based on the principles of the scientific-experimental method. The results show that despite the various claims as to the need to maintain national security and enact domestic rules in this regard, these sanctions do not have a clear legal basis in international law, and their imposition on other countries, except in special rare cases, is subject to approval by the United Nations, its subsidiaries, and the Security Council as the main international body responsible for international peace and security.