Promoting Human Rights in a Globalizing World: Testing the Smart Sanctions Tool in Zimbabwe

The accelerating pace of globalization is leading to magnanimous interconnectedness. As a result of the advanced interweave of cultural, social, political and economic relations, collective instruments of international policy are becoming much easier to implement and coordinate, with positive consequences for governance and human rights. In 2002, the international community imposed smart sanctions on Zimbabwe because of its virulent abuse of human rights. Smart sanctions were intended to inflict coercive pressure on the government to reverse its human rights violations, at the same time preventing unintended humanitarian consequences. Using the case of smart sanctions in Zimbabwe, this paper discusses the extent to which the globalization process is supportive of effective implementation of international policies geared towards the promotion of human rights. While coordination and coherence is crucial in the successful implementation of smart sanctions to advance human rights, this paper also points out the extent to which international smart sanctions are a viable tool for advancing human rights without themselves being an abuse of human rights.