Economic sanctions have become an increasingly important way for the United States to project power and advance its national interests. Most recently, innovative and effective sanctions have addressed Iran's nuclear program and Russia's aggression in Ukraine, demonstrating the importance of coercive economic measures to US foreign policy. But as sanctions have become a key piece of US strategy abroad, policymakers and thought leaders have raised questions about the role, effectiveness, and centrality of sanctions in US policy.
 
This CNAS public conference on US sanctions and national security, co-hosted with the Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law, will feature an overview of administration policy on sanctions and a discussion among distinguished former policy leaders on the role for coercive economic measures in tackling the security challenges of the future. The event coincides with the release of a CNAS report on the effects and effectiveness of sanctions since 9/11. Some questions this conference will explore include: how can the United States measure and achieve intended effects from the use of coercive economic measures? What place should sanctions have in the US national security arsenal? And as American rivals become more familiar with the tools of economic statecraft, what defensive measures are available to protect US interests from retaliation for the imposition of sanctions? 

WilmerHale Senior International Counsel Bob Kimmitt will be a featured speaker during this panel discussion.