Essay Database

The US embassy in Iran was taken by storm on November 4, 1979 when Iranian militants seized and took sixty-six American members hostage. This hostile event stemmed from Iran's demand that the US return their deposed Shah. The US immediately engaged in economic sanctioning tactics to ensure the safe return of the hostages. Although authors like Renwick deem such methods as ineffective, Baldwin's argument assesses the situation and demonstrates how economic statecraft positioned the US so that …

…is making an association between economic sanctions employed because of the hostage crisis in Iran. Overall, I feel Baldwin's argument clearly lays out and supports the idea that economic sanctions against Iran achieved their primary goals by implementing secondary goals. In addition, Renwick fails to recognize any of the difficult circumstances the US faced due to chaos within Iran. Renwick's arguments are contradictory. Although he claims economic tactics were ineffective, he eventually supports Baldwin's arguments.