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Debt and Development

Aims, Scope and Outcome

To introduce the practices, theoretical concepts and debates that inform the
contemporary discourses about development and changing models of
international landings at national and global level.

To enable the students to independently conduct research on topics relevant to

debt justice and development debates.

To encourage the students to engage with the issue of economic justice in a

critical and argumentative manner.

The module begins by offering a broad overview of global financial architect

and moves on to cover such aspects as role of the international development
finance, IFIs; IMF, World Bank, globalization, neoliberalism. The question of
debt in relation to human rights besides the key causes of debt domination of
global south will also be explored. This module concludes by offering a
comprehensive overview of the history of Pakistan Pubic debt, and possible
mechanisms to divorce the chronic debt dependency. However, this module is
global in scope.

At the end of this module, the students will be able to write essays and conduct
research on multiple aspects of development finance and debt justice by
deploying such lenses as economic justice and human rights.

IMPORTANT: A change in readings is possible.

No. Topic Required Readings

Week 1 Introduction to the module Course Outline

Week 2 Basic Concepts and Smith (1987); Zinn (1980).

Week 3 500 years of debt and domination Graeber (2011); Piketty (2017).
Week 4 International Debt Players Vitrebo (2017); Brown and Bulman (2006).

Week 5 The IMF, World Bank duo.

Week 6 Two case studies: Haiti and Egypt.

Week 7 Human Rights, Debt and CETIM (); Ozden ();
Development

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Week 8 Contemporary debt crisis

Week 9 Neoliberalism and debt trap

Week 10 Transparency
Week 11 Imperial debt: Socialist
Repudiation (USSR)

Week 12 Imperial debt: Socialist

Repudiation (Mexico)

Week 13 Pakistan: History of Public debt –

a running saga Hussain (2023); Shah

Week 14 Presentations (graded assignment) Presentations (graded assignment)

Week 15 Presentations (graded assignment) Presentations (graded assignment)

Week 16 Sum up/Revisions Results

Assessment:

1. Reflection Papers + Class Participation: A brief written test based on the required readings. This will be
done during the second segment of the lecture on weekly basis. In total, 12 Reflection Papers will have
to be submitted. Weightage: 36%.

2. Presentations: Every student will present a case study (country-based) on debt. Weightage: 24%.

3. Endterm Essay: Weightage: Students will write a 2000-2500-word academic essay on: ‘Debt is an
outright corruption’. Deadline: May 11, 2024. Weightage: 40%.

There is no main textbook for the course. The following are useful links which would be used during the
course and will be helpful for your Presentation and Endterm Essay:

Useful Websites:

 The World Bank http://www.worldbank.org

 The International Monetary Fund http://www.imf.org
 Center for Global Development http://www.cgdev.org
 Center for Social and economic Justice, http://www.isej.org.pk
 Committee for Abolition of illegitimate debt, http://www.cadtm.org/English
 European network on debt and development, https://eurodad.org
 African Forum and Network on Debt and Development, http://www.afrodad.org
 Alliance Sud, https://www.alliancesud.ch/en
 Centre Europe-Tiers Monde (CETIM), https://www.cetim.ch/en/
 Bank Information Centre, https://bankinformationcenter.org
 Bretton Woods Project, https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org
 Jubilee Debt Campaign UK, https://jubileedebt.org.uk
 Global Justice Now, https://www.globaljustice.org.uk
 Center for research on Multinational corporations, (SOMO) https://www.somo.nl
 Debt Justice Network, Norway (SLUG), http://slettgjelda.no/en/
 Jubilee Debt Germany, http://www.erlassjahr.de/
 UNHRC, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/IEDebt/Pages/GuidingPrinciples.aspx

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 UNCTAD, Debt and Development Finance, https://unctad.org/en/pages/gds/Debt%20and

%20Development%20Finance/Debt-and-Development-Finance.aspx

Videos /Documentaries

 Why Banks love Public debt; https://youtu.be/0DTgfesmugk

 To End Poverty; https://youtu.be/wHCWCXNVOK4
 War by Other Means; John Pilger and David Munro examine the policy of First World banks,
https://youtu.be/79bZ71fUZRU
 This is Bank, Not Charity https://youtu.be/DwHW9RLuKIg
 Debt Zombies, A Film by Fresca Films and ODG, https://youtu.be/EO4X0v-lyLk
 Global Wealth Inequality, https://youtu.be/uWSxzjyMNpU
 Understanding Debt repayment; https://youtu.be/b52s0mzvOMY
 The Debt Deficit: https://youtu.be/n7N-0q4WgB4
 Thomas Sankara speech on Debt; https://youtu.be/DfzoToJEnu8
 Drop the Debt Campaign: https://youtu.be/Lv7a0yrO_iY
 Drop Pakistan Debt, Oxfam, https://youtu.be/mc7yIYNoQJQ
 A Hole in the Bucket: money, money and money; https://youtu.be/TftUamwFiLs
 Eric Toussaint on Crisis of neoliberalism, https://youtu.be/c_nneovbDpY?list=PLT-
wFchlosEFvakBoyx-5ODLKwelq7Osv
 Dr Shashi Tharoor MP - Britain Does Owe Reparations: https://youtu.be/f7CW7S0zxv4
 Cephas Lumina: “The Paris Club has no legitimacy”, A professor, former Independent Expert to the
UN Human Rights Council specializing in the impact of foreign debt on the full exercise of human
rights.
 https://youtu.be/6QW6ope2kG0?list=PLT-wFchlosEE1Krc_tNp6EHseGQKkkx3_