VOA常速英语2008年-Economic Rewards Obtain Better Results Than San

By Bill Rodgers
Washington
10 March 2008
 

Policymakers often view economic sanctions as an attractive middle option between doing nothing, or intervening directly to change an intractable government's behavior. But sometimes providing the 'carrot' of economic rewards, rather than the 'stick' of economic sanctions, can be more effective in persuading a government to change its policies. VOA's Bill Rodgers takes a look at some alternatives to sanctions.

Declaring war is usually the last resort for policymakers pressing a government to change its practices.

That is why they often turn to sanctions to pressure a country's leaders, as is the case currently with Iran, where the United States and other western nations want Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

But Ted¹ Galen Carpenter of the CATO Institute in Washington says sanctions often do not work.

"The historical record of sanctions, whether unilateral or ad hoc or multilateral, show that they rarely work," Carpenter said. "They fail more often than they succeed, and they especially don't work very often when they're trying to get the target regime to give up on a high-priority policy."

But what can sometimes work is the offer of economic incentives² or rewards.

The United States slapped sanctions on Pakistan after it carried out a nuclear test in 1998. The sanctions were aimed at stopping a nuclear arms race on the Indian subcontinent.

Pakistanis resented the sanctions and found ways to circumvent³ them. Retired⁴ Pakistani Major General Jamshed Ayaz Khan heads the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad.

"I was in the Defense⁵ Production Division when you had these sanctions," he said. "They have an effect, but not an immediate⁶ effect, because there is always somebody there to sell the things. But we did manage to survive and survive pretty well."

Washington lifted the sanctions after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, in hopes of enlisting⁷ Pakistan's help in the war on terrorism. Military and economic aid flowed in, and Pakistan began to cooperate in hunting down extremists.

Sanctions expert Gary Hufbauer at the Peterson Institute for International Economics says the new policy better served U.S. interests.

"Pakistan has done a lot, maybe not as much as we've wanted, but it has done a lot in this battle against al-Qaida and the problems going on in Afghanistan," Huftbauer said. "And, if you consider the alternative, which is that we had a hostile Pakistan even today, with this instability, things are so much better than they would have been, if we'd had a hostile Pakistan."

Libya is an example where the prospect⁸ of lifted international sanctions and resumed commercial ties helped change government behavior.

International sanctions were imposed on Libya when it became clear it was responsible for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people, and other terrorist attacks. Washington strengthened those sanctions in 1996.

But Libya eventually agreed to make restitution¹⁰ payments to the relatives of the victims killed in the Pan Am bombing and other attacks. And, in 2003, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi also agreed to to end his weapons of mass destruction program.

Libya's ambassador to Washington Ali Aujali says the WMD program no longer made sense in the face of the prospect of having sanctions lifted.

"This was a priority of the Libyan government, to get rid of these sanctions," he said. "Not only because that in daily life we felt it, but because also of the political complications and ... I think both sides realize that we've been able to achieve nothing in 25 years of hostile relations, but we've been able to achieve a lot in three or four years of our new relations."

North Korea is another case where Washington is now offering the carrot of economic incentives as an alternative to the stick of maintaining sanctions, if Pyongyang dismantles¹¹ its nuclear program. Under an agreement, U.S. aid will flow to the North once it disables key facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear plant.

While such aid offers may work, it is the prospect of eventual⁹ commercial ties that is the real lure¹² for many governments. Again Ted Galen Carpenter of the CATO Institute.

"Often, it is less direct economic aid that is the big carrot than access to important markets, such as the American market, such as the market in the European Union. Often, that will be of greater appeal to regimes than the lure of direct aid," Carpenter said.

While, some believe this alternative may be the most effective policy tool to change governments' behavior, policymakers are unlikely to abandon sanctions as a form of pressure.

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

3 circumvent   

vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜

参考例句：

• Military planners tried to circumvent the treaty.军事策略家们企图绕开这一条约。
• Any action I took to circumvent his scheme was justified.我为斗赢他的如意算盘而采取的任何行动都是正当的。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 enlisting   

v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的现在分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• He thought about enlisting-about the Spanish legion-about a profession. 他想去打仗，想参加西班牙军团，想找个职业。 来自辞典例句
• They are not enlisting men over thirty-five. 他们不召超过35岁的人入伍。 来自辞典例句

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

10 restitution   

n.赔偿；恢复原状

参考例句：

• It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。
• The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

11 dismantles   

拆开( dismantle的第三人称单数 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• This toy machine gun dismantles easily. 这种玩具机关枪很容易拆卸。
• By contrast, modern scepticism challenges nobody and dismantles only theories of change. 相反，现代的怀疑主义却并不质疑任何人，仅仅摧毁变革理论。

12 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。