Presented in Partnership with
ARGUING YES
Venezuelan Opposition Leader
ARGUING YES
Former Federal Prosecutor; Partner at BakerHostetler LLP
ARGUING NO
Former Diplomat in the U.S. State Department
ARGUING NO
Senior Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House
MODERATOR
Host and Moderator-in-Chief
This week:
- New episode: Do sanctions deter bad state actors?
- Help us meet our year-end fundraising goals
- Your Sunday reading list
Called the “Davos of Human Rights” by The Economist, the Oslo Freedom Forum is the signature annual event hosted by the Human Rights Foundation in Oslo, Norway. It gathers dissidents, activists, and freedom fighters for a three-day event and features inspirational leaders from around the globe.
At their 2025 event, Open to Debate was invited to co-produce a live debate on an issue of significance to key constituents and today’s geopolitical climate: Are Sanctions an Effective Policy Tool?
Open to Debate CEO Clea Conner and Human Rights Foundation President Céline Assaf Boustani took the stage, introducing the topic and the importance of a partnership that encourages open and engaged dialogue on issues of global importance. Open to Debate’s Moderator-in-Chief, John Donvan, then shared with the crowd our signature discussion rules.
In front of a packed house, trial lawyer and ex-federal prosecutor Artie McConnell, and Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López argued that sanctions are effective and morally necessary. Former diplomat and scholar, Elizabeth Shackelford, and Chatham House’s senior fellow for Latin America, Christopher Sabatini, countered by making the case that they often fail, which allows regimes to consolidate power.
All four debaters were supremely captivating orators, punctuating their remarks with history, data, and stories of lived experience. At one point, nuance took center stage in a constructive, forward-looking discussion about how sanctions might be effective as part of a broader foreign policy portfolio when used sparingly and strategically.
As we consider the real-world consequences of authoritarianism that is on the rise across the globe, and part of front-page policy conversations regarding Russia and Iran, give this superb and timely debate a listen. You won’t be sorry; it’s our popular Oxford-style format at its best.
As always, let us know what you think.
More soon,
Lia Matthow
Chief Content Officer
POINT/COUNTERPOINT
Are Sanctions An Effective Policy Tool?
YES: Leopoldo López
“Sanctions are a way of putting pressure into the regimes. The alternative to sanctions, as we have seen between 2022 and 2024, is appeasement. Today you might hear that sanctions are at the core or the root cause of economic collapse and humanitarian tragedy in Venezuela. False. The economic collapse in Venezuela started way before sanctions were imposed.”
NO: Elizabeth Shackelford
“We don’t lay out what our specific achievable goals are going to be, and we very rarely or never actually inform regimes that are the target of it, what they can actually do in order to secure sanctions relief. Because of this, sanctions have turned into something that plays a little more of a role than signaling our disapproval.”
YES: Artie McConnell
“Sanctions are not only an effective foreign policy tool. I would argue that they are one of the most effective means in which we have to influence real change around the world.”
NO: Christopher Sabatini
“Should we engage in policies that simply make us feel good, that simply send a message? Is foreign policy simply virtue signaling or is it intended to be effective?”
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