The failure of sanctions throughout history in the majority of cases does not seem to stop people calling for them. They punish a country’s population while the political leadership carries on living in luxury. The current issue of The Economist reports that life is difficult for the Burmese and it has just got worse because of rising fuel prices. “The Burmese,” the newspaper reports, “are already suffering from economic mismanagement and from Western embargoes imposed in protest against the detention of democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.” Sanctions have cost Burmese people jobs, they have may some Westerns feel going, but in what way have they actually succeeded in restoring democracy?