Clemency for Policy Bargains

When foreign sanctions and domestic polarization collide, leaders can treat clemency or sentence reductions for rivals as tradable assets—exchanging them for legislative support or sanction relief. This reframes amnesty from moral absolution to a negotiated tool that links justice outcomes to economic and electoral goals. — It spotlights how executive clemency can become a cross‑domain bargaining chip in sanctioned democracies, blurring lines between rule‑of‑law, coalition‑building, and foreign policy.