Smart sanctions have been a frequent but supposedly ineffective UN instrument of conflict resolution since the end of the Cold War. While most sanctions thinking focuses on sanctions against consolidated states with unwanted governments, this book illustrates how smart sanctions can be used to prop up governments in failed states in Sub-Saharan Africa. These failed states are characterised by the lack of a monopoly on violence and plagued by rebellions which are largely financed through natural resource sales and foreign support. The author analyses the sanctions regimes in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo to gauge their impact on political support, supply structures and the military balance of the deadly conflicts there. He argues that in particular the advocacy component of smart sanctions regimes - the panel of expert reports and connected diplomatic activities - is able to contribute to their success. Thanks to this component the ensemble of arms embargos, financial, travel and commodity sanctions can play a crucial role in depriving the rebels of funds and means needed to sustain their rebellion. This may enable statehood to return.