Some of the effects of that approach were the endless and sometimes completely meaningless wars. Eventually, nations began to build fragile alliances when they realized that it was costlier to fight one another than to work together. Unfortunately, like everything else, international sanctions have come to represent the worst aspects of postcolonial hegemony and even outright international injustice. In effect, international sanctions have exposed contradictions inherent in modern implementations of international law. Some of the most vocal advocates for international sanctions are countries that are not actually signatories to many of the internationally accepted covenants. This book attempts to tell the story of international sanctions. Specifically, it highlights the political and economic interests that lay at the heart of this conflict among nations.