The Global Debt Crisis

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that the global debt crisis represents a means by which the developed world reasserts its former colonial control over the newly-independent nations of the developing world. The author points out that, by loaning these countries money, often to serve the interests of corrupt local elites, debt accumulates to the point that these countries are barely able to meet their interest charges on the debt. The paper relates that Nigeria represents an example of what political scientists term a "rentier state". The author contends that, in Nigeria, an oil-rich country in Africa, its debt represents a means by which the natural resources and wealth of the developing world can be brought under the effective control of the developed world. The paper concludes that debt can be seen as an instrument of neo-colonial domination and control that continues into the 21st century.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Collapse of Colonialism and the Creation of the "Third World"
Developing World Debt Becomes Critical
The Debt Crisis in Nigeria: Internal and External Factors
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"However, in all of these nations there existed the understandable desire to develop as quickly as possible. One of the easiest means to achieve this end was to borrow from lenders in the developed world to fund development schemes. The nations of what was termed the "Third World" borrowed heavily in the post-independence era, and when the nations of the developed world slowed down their economies in the 1980s to combat inflation this severely damaged the economies of Third World nations that depended upon commodity exports for foreign exchange. Without this revenue, they were often unable to meet their debt payments."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bernstein, Henry. "Colonialism, capitalism, development." Poverty and Development into the 21st Century. Ed. Tim Allen and Alan Thomas. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 2000, 241-270.
• Chinweizu. "Debt Trap Peonage - Nigeria's Foreign Debt." Monthly Review. November 1985.
• Hewitt, Tom. "Half a century of development." Poverty and Development into the 21st Century. Ed. Tim Allen and Alan Thomas. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, 289-308.
• Isbister, John. Promises Not Kept: The Betrayal of Social Change in the Third World. 3rd Edition. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press, 1995.
• Jensen, Nathan and Wantchekon, Leonard. "Resource Wealth and Political Regimes in Africa." Comparative Political Studies. 37.7(2004): 816-841.

More papers on The Global Debt Crisis:

• Cause and Effect Essay # 118898 : "Global Debt Crisis"
• Research Paper # 67262 : "Global Debt Crises"
• Analytical Essay # 132595 : "Origins of the Debt Crisis and Its Role in Nigeria"

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