英検1級ライティング economic sanctions

お題 Are economic sanctions useful foreign policy tool?

以下エッセイ

The debate on whether or not the use of economic sanctions is effective as a
foreign policy tool has been a matter of great controversy for a long time. It is often pointed out that economic sanctions can be a useful diplomatic strategy in terms of redressing targeted countries' behaviours.  Given negative consequences economic sanctions potentially bring about, I would like to claim that economic sanctions are a flawed foreign policy that does more harm than good.

One major reason to support my idea is that economic sanctions often threaten the most vulnerable members of society, including children, the elderly and those who are already struggling to live financially. It is often the poorest people who disproportionatly bear the brunt of disruptions caused by economic sanctions.
For instance, in North Korea, sanctions imposed by western nations have brought instability into supply of basic goods like medicine and food, resulting in widespread poverty and even death.  Given this chaotic situation, it cannot be justifiable that economic sanctions are a helpful foreign policy strategy.

Additionally, the use of economic sanctions emboldens targeted countries to be more nationalist. When they are faced with sanctions, they tend to respond aggressively by preventing their public citizens from disseminating their own information and imposing a comprehensive ban on the use of goods that are manufactured in countries imposing economic sanctions. Such a cultural repression has the potential for impairing their abilities to deepen understanding of other countries' culture, leading to parochial nationalism.

Another cogent reason is that rarely in modern days have economic sanctions served as an effective tool for solving international problems. Russia's atrocious invasion into Ukraine is a case in point. Since this war, many western nations and UN institutions have imposed economic sanctions in a multilateral manner. This strategic countermeasure, however, has wreaked havoc on our lives. For example, Russia stopped providing oil and gas as a retaliatory measure, leading to inordinately rising prices of necessary goods such as cost of living and food. This crisis has plunged countless people into financial dire straits, thereby exacerbating social decadence.

Although it is a common belief that economic sanctions become the norm in that targeted countries’ reckless behaviours can be rectified, I completely disagree with the notion that imposing economic sanctions can be an effective strategy in light of detrimental impacts they exert on the globe.