With the help of a historical example, explain how economic sanctions can, for better or worse, pressure an adversary into changing its behavior.

What will be an ideal response?

Student examples may vary but should accurately demonstrate an instance of economic sanctions bringing about a change in behavior, either positive or negative. A sample answer follows: One of the major reasons Japan decided in 1941 to bomb the U.S. naval fleet at Pearl Harbor was an embargo that Australia, Great Britain, the Netherlands East Indies (the colony that later became Indonesia), and the United States placed on Japan. In an effort to keep the Japanese from expanding their empire in Asia and the Pacific, the four Western powers stopped selling the Japanese empire iron, steel, and oil. All three of these goods were critical to the Japanese plans for continued expansion. This move by the Western powers seriously threatened Japan’s industrial strength and military power. Japanese officials believed that if they did not strike back at the United States and other countries promptly, they would be quickly weakened to the point that they would be unable to attack at all. Thus, economic pressure hastened Japanese aggression, their eventual attack on Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. entrance into World War II.