Imperialism and the Political Economy of Global South’s Debt

✍ Scribed by Ndongo Samba Sylla

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 265
• Series: Research in Political Economy
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the nagging issue of the Global South's debt back into the spotlight. With declining export earnings and tax revenues, many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia have found themselves objectively unable to service their foreign currency debt. This situation, reminiscent of the international debt crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, is the backdrop of the 38th volume of the Research in Political Economy series edited by Ndongo Samba Sylla.

In Imperialism and the Political Economy of Global South’s Debt, expert contributions connect the history of this issue with a range of factors including class dynamics, the changing landscape of sovereign debt markets, the global liquidity cycle, the enduring constraints of commodity dependence, ecological sustainability and the limitations of the current ad hoc sovereign debt restructuring procedures. In contrast to orthodox accounts that view debt crises in the Global South as a cyclical problem or as consequences of 'mismanagement' or 'fiscal irresponsibility'. Imperialism and the Political Economy of Global South’s Debt recognises the systemic nature of the Global South’s external debt, revealed only further by the economic uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the need to analyse it in relation to existing imperialist structures.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
IMPERIALISM AND THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GLOBAL SOUTH’S DEBT
RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
IMPERIALISM AND THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GLOBAL SOUTH’S DEBT
Copyright
CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ABOUT THE EDITOR
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1. Case Studies
The Political Economy of Debt in the Global South: The Case of Argentina (2001–2022)
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 From the Dictatorship to the 2001 Economic Crisis and the Debt-Renegotiation Processes
3 The Return of External Restrictions
4 The Macri Administration (2015–2019) and the Return to the IMF
5 The Economic Consequences of External Indebtedness and the Challenges for the Global South
Notes
References
Can Debt Be Sustainable, if Life Isn't? Argentina's Debt Crisis and Social Reproduction*
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Argentina and Debt: A Brief History of Dependency
3 Debt Sustainability: What Is It?
4 Political Feasibility or Life at the Center?
5 Life at the Center or No Debt Sustainability Without Life Sustainability
6 Conclusions
Notes
References
Colonial Hangover in Global Financial Markets: Eurobonds, China, and African Debt
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Colonial Hangover, Law, and the Development of Sovereign Debt Markets
3 Structural Adjustment and Sovereign Debt Cycles in Africa
4 The Changing African Sovereign Debt Creditor Landscape
5 Debt Management, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the DSSI
6 Cycles of Debt Crisis in Zambia
7 External Debt and Transparency: Lessons From Mozambique
8 Conclusion – Allocating Sovereign Debt Risk
Notes
References
Tightening the Grip: Foreign Creditors and Sudan's Political Transition (2019–2022)
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Debts and Development (1956–1985)
3 From Salvation to Sanctions
4 A Forced “Delinking”
5 Revolution and After
6 Counting Sudan's Debts
7 Sudan, HIPC, and the Aborted Transition
8 Stealing a Revolution
9 Conclusion
Notes
References
2. The Elusive Quest for a Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism
Refusing to Improve: Sovereign Debt REPAYMENT DIFFICULTIES and the Political Economy of Inertia in UNCTAD 1964–1979
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Escalating Political Disputes Over Debt Repayment Difficulties
3 DEBT Policy Proposals Through UNCTAD I–V
3.1 Rejection and Deferral: UNCTAD I–III – Geneva to Santiago
3.2 Splintering Proposals: From UNCTAD IV (Nairobi) to UNCTAD V (Manila)
4 Conclusion
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Notes
References
Limits of Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanisms and Possible Alternatives
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Brief History of Attempts to Create a Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism
3 The Current Mechanisms
3.1 The International Monetary Fund
3.2 The Paris Club
3.3 The London Club and the Institute of International Finance
4 The Evolution of the Public External Debt of Southern Countries
5 COVID-19 Pandemic Management
5.1 The Debt Service Suspension Initiative
5.2 The Common Framework
6 The Need to Get out of the Clutches of Creditors
7 Principles and Limits of an International Mechanism for Restructuring Sovereign Debt
7.1 Principles
7.2 Limitations
8 Take Immediate Unilateral Action to Free Ourselves From Debt
8.1 Impose a Moratorium and Oppose Creditors' Conditionalities
8.2 Conduct an Audit of the Public Debt With Citizen Participation
8.2.1 A Lawful Measure
8.2.2 The Cases of Ecuador and Norway
8.2.3 The Benefits of the Citizen Audit of the Debt
8.3 The Right of States to Declare the Nullity of Public Debt
8.4 What Are the Risks for the States?
9 Conclusion
Notes
References
3. Foreign Debt, Development, and Imperialism
Managing the Balance-of-Payments Constraint: Dilemmas and Perspectives
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 The Reasons for and Against Public Debt in the Domestic Economy
3 Money and Debt in the International Context: The External Constraint
4 Policies to Deal With the External Constraint
4.1 The Neoliberal Solution: Free Flows of Trade and Finance
4.2 A Heterodox Solution: Industrial Policy and Public Investment
4.3 Unfortunate Convergence of Solutions
4.4 Heterodox Strategies to Deal With the External Constraint
5 The Dilemma in Practice
6 Outlook: A Reform to Lift the External Constraint
6.1 Short Recap of the Transfer Problem
6.2 A One-Country Reform of International Payments
7 Concluding Remarks
Notes
References
Country Abbreviations
Imperialism and Global South's Debt: Insights From Modern Monetary Theory, Ecological Economics, and Dependency Theory
Abstract
1 Introduction
2 Public Debt and Monetary Sovereignty
3 On Original Sin
4 Debt and FDI's “First Claimant” Right
5 Net Resource Transfers and Unequal Ecological Exchange
6 The NIEO Illusion
Notes
References
China and Debt-Trap Diplomacy: A Brief Assessment
Abstract
1 Unpacking the Belt and Road Initiative and the Debt-Trap Diplomacy Narrative
2. Is Sri Lanka a Case of Chinese Debt-Trap Diplomacy?
3. China's Challenges as a Global Creditor in the COVID-19 Context
Notes
INDEX