That's a fair point. Sanctions seem to be relatively useless against despotism (North Korea, Cuba, Iraq). However, South Africa was an advanced democratic capi

That's a fair point. Sanctions seem to be relatively useless against despotism (North Korea, Cuba, Iraq). However, South Africa was an advanced democratic capitalist state, and its stability depended on links with the Western capitalist system. Italy is probably even more vulnerable to such pressure.