Sanctions have become the West’s favourite alternative to war — a way to punish wrongdoing without pulling the trigger. But as courts step into the fray, the line between law and power is blurring. Should judges second-guess governments on national security? Should intelligence stay secret in the name of fairness? And when one country’s financial laws reach halfway around the world, is that leadership — or legal imperialism?

We explore the uneasy balance between justice and realpolitik, featuring voices from across the spectrum: from John Bolton and Kenneth Roth to Rosalyn Higgins, Robert Kagan and Martti Koskenniemi.