Blockades

A blockade is an act in which a state or an international actor prevents goods, communications, and people from accessing or exiting an enemy’s territory, whether by land, sea, or air. Blockades are usually enforced to restrict the actions of a state, rather than just the city or port that the blockade might take place in. The history of blockades can be traced back to the Peloponnesian Wars, with the Spartans blockading the city of Athens. Modern examples of blockades are more sophisticated and include the Berlin Blockade in the late 1940s and the Blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is still being enforced. A traditional blockade, with regard to legality, has to be formally declared and effective. Effective in this sense means that the ...