Kehitysmaiden velka politiikan ja sopimuksen rajapinnalla

Authors

• Teppo Eskelinen

Abstract

In this article I analyse what kinds of political demands have emerged in response to the problem of sovereign debt of developing countries. Theoretically, sovereign debt only spells out a contract between debtor and creditor. Yet practically, some debts are unpayable and some are possibly illegitimate. Also, debt reductions have followed an ad hoc logic, leading to calls from civil society organizations for transparent debt arbitration mechanisms. Specifically, I analyse how the idea of global justice can justify calls for resolving the debt crisis, and what kinds of grounds of justification have been proposed for a significant reduction of the debt burden. I also discuss the recent global financial crisis and its impacts on the politics of third world debt. A specific question addressed is whether the indebtedness of state sectors in developed countries will lead to similar demands for debt cancellation as has been proposed for third world countries.