Russia's Olympic Ban Is a Case of Smart Sanctions Design

Countries trying to develop an effective format for sanctions against President Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia should look no further than the International Olympic Committee's decision to ban the Russian Olympic Committee from the Pyeongchang Winter Games. It strikes a difficult balance between hurting the regime and not punishing Russians themselves, as a people of great accomplishment and value to the world. It also forces the regime to show domestically whether it cares more about itself or the Russian people.

The report of the IOC's Disciplinary Commission, on which the ban is based, avoids politicized generalizations about the existence of a "state-run" doping system in Russia, made in an early version of Canadian law professor Richard McLaren's report for the World Anti-Doping Agency that set off reprisals against Russian athletes competing in multiple sports. It does, however, say that various Russian institutions such as the Ministry of Sports and the ROC failed to fulfill their legal responsibility to make sure Russian athletes were clean. It sweeps aside assurances from Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko that the situation wouldn't be repeated and makes the point that the Russian institutions that failed to assure fair play have to be held responsible.