The targeting of economic sanctions

• We use a comprehensive dataset of economic sanctions over the past 30 years. • US unilateral sanctions are often off the mark. • United Nations sanctions tend to be well-targeted. • Sanctions that target democratic stability are correlated with their stated goals. We use a comprehensive dataset of economic sanctions over the past 30 years to show that US unilateral sanctions are often off the mark, while United Nations sanctions tend to be well-targeted. Sanctions that target democratic stability and conflict resolution are best correlated with their stated goals.