Within international relations settings, the debate regarding the use and effectiveness of international sanctions as conflict management tools transcends an academic debate. In this paper, we discussed the application of sanctions and its variations that have contributed to conflict resolution in post-World War II era. We argued that the United Nations (a progeny of the collective security system after the League of Nations) has applied sanctions to manage a chunk of protracted conflicts, although in some cases such attempts have rather exacerbated conflicts. And to that extent, the role of international sanctions in this whole collective engagement business is never a write-off. We suggested that, sanctions that are a form of punishment are usually applied in response to aggressive actions, which aim at compelling wrong-doers to comply with laid down rules and norms. This work attempts an evaluation on the potency of this rather controversial technique that has been prescribed for under Articles 39, 41 and 42 of United Nations Charter. ; as a method that can be implored by member-states to enforce international law rules, of course with the expressed approval of the Security Council.
Keywords: Collective Security System, International Sanctions, United Nations, conflict management
