In various instances countries regional organizations and the United Nations have resorted
to the use of sanctions as a foreign policy and as a tool for geopolitics in order to
influence the behavior of targeted states. Numerous researches and analyses have been conducted
to observe and understand the effectiveness and impact of sanctions and subsequently dismissed
them as either effective ineffective or counterproductive to their intended objectives. This
study seeks to address the aforementioned question in particular whether sanctions remain to
be an option as a geopolitical tool to influence the behavior of targeted states. The core of
this work consists of three case studies: first sanctions on the Russian Federation
(2014-present) sanctions on Iran (1979 -present 2006 2012 -2016) and the US trade embargo
on Cuba (1960 -present). These case studies have been analyzed from the structural point of
view to understand their specifics background and plausible retaliation by the respective
state. Then the technical results achieved by the sanctions are reviewed and their weaknesses
are highlighted. Lastly numerous relevant arguments are provided to reinforce the conclusion.
