Book Launch: Imperialism and the political economy of global south’s debt By Home OU Economics and The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation

Tuesday, April 18, 2023 – 13:00 to 16:15

Online via Zoom. Simultaneous translation English/Spanish/French at local time 13.00 – 16:15 (London) | 12:00 – 15:15 (Dakar) | 9:00 – 12:15 (Buenos Aires)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought the 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 unable to service their foreign currency debt. This situation, reminiscent of the international debt crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, is the backdrop of new book edited by Ndongo Samba Sylla.

The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and OU Economics are delighted to host the Book Launch of Imperialism and the Political Economy of Global South’s Debt, where experts 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.

See event page for the list of speakers.

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