For decades policymakers, politicians, activists, journalists and scholars debated sanctions against apartheid, making nearly every possible theoretical and practical argument about their likely impact.

Using new information and innovative theoretical perspectives, eleven respected scholars from South Africa, Canada and the USA weigh the evidence. The editors review and assess the theoretical arguments about sanctions. The book covers diplomatic, sport and cultural isolation, oil, nuclear and military embargoes, financial sanctions, disinvestment, consequences of trade boycotts for black South Africans, and the impact of sanctions on the region.

This collection shows how social, economic and strategic isolation, both directly and indirectly, hurt the apartheid regime and draws lessons for the use of similar measures against other regimes.