Draft. Review by teachers is pending. Please check the material yourself before using it in class.
Sanctions are a topic on which thoughtful people reach opposite judgements. This teaching pack for politics, economics, history and ethics in lower and upper secondary school helps to teach it as a controversy without overwhelming students: four units of 90 minutes, five worksheets, a simulation “Council of the EU” and a method sheet on checking a figure. The full pack is in German.
To the full pack with all worksheets (German)
Why as a controversy?
Governments, courts and researchers disagree on whether sanctions are permitted, whether they work and whom they hit. Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education summarises the Beutelsbach Consensus of 1976 in three principles: the prohibition of overwhelming students, the requirement to present controversial matters as controversial, and enabling learners to analyse a political situation and their own interests. These principles fit the non-partisanship of “Helfen statt Blockieren”: the pack sets out positions with evidence side by side and leaves the judgement to the learners.
| Unit | Topic | Content | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What is a sanction? | Opening with Woodrow Wilson’s phrase “silent, deadly remedy”; terms embargo, targeted sanction, blockade in war; timeline from the Berlin Decree of 1806 to today. | Worksheet 1 |
| 2 | Does it work? | Three counts of success (4 to 56 percent) and two mortality studies that contradict each other. Why are the figures so far apart? | Worksheets 2 and 5 |
| 3 | The case of Cuba, both halves | Material A: UN votes on the US embargo. Material B: political prisoners according to Amnesty International and Prisoners Defenders. Support arguments with evidence; do not decide who is right. | Worksheet 3 |
| 4 | Simulation “Council of the EU” | Should a sanctions package against a fictional country be extended? Six roles, open outcome; debrief: what was hard to back up? | Worksheet 4, role cards |
Lower secondary: units 1, 3 and 4 in shortened form; upper secondary: all four.
What learners should be able to do
- Distinguish embargo, targeted sanction and blockade in war, with one example each.
- Explain why studies on the effects and consequences of sanctions reach different figures.
- Using the case of Cuba, support arguments of both sides with sources: the US embargo and the political prisoners.
- Represent a role in a simulation, recognise interests and name what could not be backed up.
- Check a figure with six questions: source, range, type of sanction, period, counter-study, interests.
When it gets personal in class
Many classes include young people whose families come from countries under sanctions, from Cuba, Iran, Syria, Russia or Ukraine. For them the topic is not a game. The pack is therefore built so that no one has to talk about their own family: all tasks work with material, not personal experience, and the simulation is set in a fictional country. Anyone who wants to share may do so; it is not graded.
Three rules proved useful in planning and appear on the sheets: first, every task separates what a source states from what one concludes from it. Second, whoever cites a figure names the source; the debrief asks what could not be backed up. Third, the teacher assesses reasoning, not opinions. Learners’ own judgement is welcome when it is supported, and not required if they do not yet have one.
What you need to prepare
For units 1 and 2 the worksheets suffice, printed or digital. For unit 3 it helps to look up the latest Prisoners Defenders figures and the result of the most recent UN vote; both change, and the pack gives the state of autumn 2026. For the simulation you need six table groups, the cut-out role cards, a clock and a board for the presidency’s draft. Do not plan the debrief too tightly: it is the most important part.
Before or after the week
The pack can be used independently of the week “Helfen statt Blockieren”. Classes visiting an event of the week can work on unit 1 beforehand and unit 3 or 4 afterwards; offers for school classes are listed under For schools. For adult education, unit 2 and the method sheet are especially suitable, because they require no prior knowledge and connect to news reports.
The simulation in brief
The Council of the EU debates whether to extend a sanctions package against the fictional country “Varenia” by six months. In the Council all member states must agree. Six groups each represent a role: a government with much trade with Varenia, a government with little trade, an aid organisation, a medium-sized company, a human rights organisation, and a delegation of Varenia that is heard but does not vote. A teacher or a learner chairs as the Council presidency. A fictional country prevents the discussion from hinging on sympathy for a real one; the case of Cuba is treated separately in unit 3. The outcome is open; the debrief assesses not who won but which claims could be backed up.
This article is information, not legal advice. It relies on the sources listed; where experts disagree, it names the positions and who holds them. “Helfen statt Blockieren” is non-partisan.
Sources
- Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung: Beutelsbacher Konsens (1976), https://www.bpb.de/themen/bildung/beutelsbacher-konsens/
- Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte „Sanktionen“, Heft 8 bis 9/2025 (PDF), https://bpb.de/system/files/dokument_pdf/APuZ_2025-08-09_online.pdf
- Maria J. Debre: Alternative zum Krieg, APuZ „Sanktionen“, bpb, 14.2.2025, https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/sanktionen-2025/559418/alternative-zum-krieg/
- All other figures in the pack: articles in this series (international law, mortality, effectiveness, Cuba, Berlin Decree); sources there and on each worksheet
All online sources accessed on 3 November 2026.